History

The Educational Records Bureau was founded in 1927 by Charles K. Taylor at Columbia University Teachers’ College. Dr. Taylor’s intended mission at the time was to distribute and score intelligence tests for college entrance purposes. Mr. Taylor met with some of the most distinguished educational leaders of the time to help gain a better understanding of how to put his mission into practice, including Dean Hawkes, Eugene R. Smith, and Ben D. Wood. Dr. Wood went on to become the Director of ERB in 1933. ERB’s popular ISEE fee waiver program is named in his honor.

The original established functions of the Bureau included record keeping of test results for its member schools; preparation of reports for schools; general consulting services on tests and assessments; research on results; providing norms on the school populations it served; and issuing publications designed to help school administrators, teachers, counselors, and parents understand and use test results. ERB is proud of that fact that after almost 80 years it has remained true to its original mission and purpose, while simultaneously expanding our products, services, and offerings to over 1600 public and independent schools in 46 states and 47 countries.