Some city private schools drop the E.R.B test

I am not a NYC parent but I have friends who are and some of these parents are affluent enough to send their kids to private school in the city.
Getting into a good private school is extremely difficult as these schools just dont have the capacity to deal with NYC's growing population. I have witnessed this first hand when I helped a friend navigate the post labor day admission form madness. (Forms for admission to private pre-schools schools are given out on the day after labor day , these forms are handed out on a first come first basis so its total madness as you have to spend hours on the phone just to get through to the admission departments). Anyway aside from their astronomical fees, private schools also rely on admission tests called E.R.B tests to admit students from elite pre-schools along with recommendation letters etc. These E.R.B. tests put intense pressure on 4 year olds as they are vigorously prepped by their ambitious parents who want them to get into highly coveted schools..some parents think its okay for they kids to be submitted to this huge pressure as they are going to grow up in a pressure cooker city in any case .. however some elite schools now beg to differ so much so that they have done away with the test requirements for admission.. I think this is a step towards some kind of sanity.. its mad to subject the tykes to that kind of pressure..
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/nyregion/07erb.html?nl=nyregion&emc=ura1