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Community Corner

NYC Private Schools to eliminate ERB admissions test?

Some 4- and 5-year old kids spend their down time with coloring books, on swing sets, and in make-believe worlds.  But others hit the books, working with expert tutors and coaches to train their 4 and 5 year old brains to prepare for the dreaded Early Childhood Admissions Assessment test known as the E.R.B which is required for private school admissions in NYC.  

According to news reports Friday, it now appears that the E.R.B will be eliminated altogether in favor of a new type of assessment. As a parent with personal experience of the E.R.B, I can certainly understand why Friday’s announcement potentially changes the landscape of private school admissions, eliciting a collective sigh of relief from families across the city.

As the founder of Arc Learning Group, a personalized tutoring company that works closely with families and their children across New York City, I believe that Friday's announcement, while laudable, raises more questions than it answers.

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Will the new assessment that replaces the ERB more holistically tap into various types of intelligence and consider the whole child objectively? Or will we see one type of subjective assessment being replaced by another, providing little relief to stressed-out families across the city?

I write more about this on my blog and I welcome your thoughts and comments:  http://www.arctolearn.com/early-childhood-admissions-assessment-test/

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Sam Aurora

Arc Learning Group

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