writing practice
What is PEG™? PEG, or Project Essay Grade, is the automated scoring system at the core of ERB Writing Practice. It was invented in the 1960s by Ellis Batten Page, a former high school English teacher, who spent “many long weekends sifting through stacks of papers wishing for some help.” His guiding principles? 1) the more we write, the better writer we become, and 2) computers can grade as reliably as their human counterparts (Page, 2003). The state of computers at the time of Page’s invention did not leave much room for automation, so PEG lay dormant until the mid-1980s. […] read more
ERB has launched Writing Practice with new design, functionality, and enhanced features to help students improve their writing skills with instant, actionable feedback. A robust library of prompts and lessons saves educators time while providing students unlimited opportunities to practice writing. […] read more
Latest Reading
Navigating the Middle East Conflict and Assessing Mission Success
As with any challenge to the value and integrity of schools, this is an opportunity to reaffirm our core commitments as educators. Teaching about the Middle East is part of the educational mission of schools […] read more
Spring Cleaning: Taking the Time to Reflect on the School Year
Spring is an ideal part of the year to sequester some good thinking time in order to reflect on what has worked well during the past year, along with what could have gone better. Be unsparing. Take notes. Then set it aside for at least the first half of the summer. […] read more
Making Sense of Your Assessment Data: How ERB Supports Schools
In addition to assessments and measures of student well-being and social-emotional skills, we offer a range of resources and services to help educators and families extract actionable insights from assessment data. […] read more
Spring 2024 CTP Norms Updates: What to Expect This Reporting Cycle
Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP) norms are updated annually for each reporting cycle (fall and spring). These “rolling norms,” as they are often called, are calculated after gathering three years of data, and in the fourth year, deleting the earliest year and adding data from the most recent administration. […] read more