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Education committee recommends ending ERB test and flags summer-program funding gap
Summary
The education committee recommended discontinuing the ERB assessment—citing that suburban norms are no longer statistically relevant—and recovering the 3–4 testing days for instruction; committee members also warned that several summer learning programs previously funded by ESSER grants will lose that funding.
The Tredyffrin‑Easttown education committee recommended discontinuing the ERB assessment and urged the district to reclaim instructional time now used for that test.
Vice President Sue Tidi said consultant George Sindel of Sundance Associates presented demographic projections showing official Oct. 1 district enrollment of 6,822 students and 80 more students than projected. Assessment director Mark Cataldi reviewed the district’s assessment portfolio and recommended discontinuing the ERB because only 5–10 suburban districts nationally still use it, making historic suburban norms no longer statistically relevant. Cataldi said removing ERB administration would recapture roughly three to four days previously allocated to the test and return that time to instruction; the committee supported the recommendation.
Dr. Wendy Tull summarized summer‑learning programs and cautioned that three programs—the district’s summer bridge, the Aspire math tutoring program for grades 2–7, and an elementary STEM camp—had been funded by ESSER grants that will no longer be available. She recommended identifying funding alternatives given the programs’ prior success.
Next steps: the education committee will bring a formal recommendation to the board for action on assessments and will work with administration to identify funding or program adjustments for summer offerings.
