Every year in April, a week is devoted to ERB testing. ERB stands for the Educational Records Bureau, and is a group of multiple standardized scantron tests that assesses students on their math and English skills. For students subjected to taking these tests, preparing for them may seem stressful and a lot of work. However, after this year’s annual session of ERB testing, The Neersyde has created a survival kit for you to reference for all subsequent testing.

• Two or more #2 Pencils
• A pencil grip is always helpful to get a grip on the test.
• Eraser – to erase your mistakes, because we all make them
• Pencil Sharpener – to make sure you’re as sharp as can be!
• Snack for afterwards – Perhaps Smarties to remind you how smart you are
• Water Bottle
• RAAP Book 

So there you have it! With this guide, you’ll always be prepared and have everything you need for the ERBs in the years to come.

Go to bed early. Get some sleep. Eat a good breakfast. Smart advice for any day, really, but especially wise guidance to pay attention on ERB week. Pros of the ERBs? No real studying necessary! But this does not mean blowing off the night by staying up until  midnight binge-watching Netflix or making sure your video game skills are up to par.

“My schedule, night-wise, is work on homework for two hours and in bed by 10:00, asleep by 10:15,” said sixth grader Crystal Pauldo.  “Wake up at 5:45 a.m, breakfast at 7:00, which is chopped fresh fruit or cereal, with lots of water,” she finished.

The first day of ERB testing started at approximately 8:30. Students dealt with Verbal Reasoning for 35 minutes, Vocabulary for 20 minutes, and Constructed Response Reading for the last 30 minutes. Quite a handful for the first day. The ERB testing took up most of the day and left students feeling slightly numb and unprepared for the next couple of block classes. And, of course, there’s the stress of it all.. “ I dislike all of the stress the ERB’s give me,” added seventh grader Chloe Jezerinac. So for future ERB testing weeks, instead of two or three block classes following, perhaps multiple regular classes could come instead? (Right, Mr. Hagy? Please?)

The four straight days of ERB testing (Monday-Thursday)  may have resulted in a lot of stress for some students.  So how do students deal with the stress? “[I like to go to] Tropical Smoothie after school to reward myself,” aid seventh grader Dasmine Capre.  Another nice distraction during the week occurred on Wednesday, April 15. Thanks to Benjamin’s Leadership Speaker series, students were treated to an assembly with surfing champion and shark-attack survivor Bethany Hamilton! The middle schoolers were privileged to hear Hamilton speak about staying true to yourself, remaining positive in the face of adversity, and surrounding yourself with people who care about you.While ERBs may be an annoyance and add stress to the daily lives of some students, events like the assembly with Mrs. Hamilton seem to make up for it.

Now that ERBs are over, the sixth and seventh graders have a reprieve until next year. However, the eighth graders are now off the hook as there is no ERB testing in high school. SO for now, it’s another sets of tests down and one more to go: finals. Ugh!