Inos confident that teachers will pass Praxis

Some 80 percent of a group of public school teachers who had volunteered to take the PRAXIS exam passed the test, according to Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos in a statement.

With this result, Inos said she is confident that the vast majority of Public School System teachers will pass the teacher core knowledge test on or before August 31, 2005, as required by the Board of Education.

She said 80 percent of the group of teachers who volunteered to take the PRAXIS test passed it on their first try.

“With the BOE providing over a year’s lead time, [I] anticipate that our teachers will meet this BOE mandate,” she said.

This is on top of what Inos said is her sure knowledge of the caliber of teachers teaching in public schools.

Further, by meeting this BOE mandate, the teachers will have demonstrated that they meet or exceed the minimum standards for highly qualified teachers under the No Child Left Behind Act, she added.

“Since we test our students knowledge on all core subjects on a regular basis, isn’t it only logical that we test our teacher’s knowledge of the subject matter that they are teaching to our students?” she asked rhetorically.

Inos said that both principals and teachers were informed that a teacher entrance exam would be required of all new teachers wishing to teach in the CNMI Public School System and this test would be a condition of renewal for all teachers currently teaching in the PSS.

The adoption of the PRAXIS test, a national standardized test of teacher subject knowledge, should be viewed as a benefit to teachers, Inos said, as it provides direct evidence of their competency. “It will also help the PSS better target professional development and in-service training for teachers.”

The commissioner said that proof of teacher core knowledge is one of the three key requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act. The other two are that all elementary and secondary teachers must have at least a bachelor’s degree and have attained full state teacher certification.

The Public School System receives over $10 million in federal grants that are conditioned on compliance with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Inos reiterated that she is confident of the skills and professionalism of the teachers serving in the CNMI’s public schools.

“Passing the PRAXIS test,” the Commissioner argued, “will be no more difficult for the vast majority of our teachers, than is developing an end of the quarter test for their students.”

Earlier, teacher representative Ambrose M. Bennett had expressed disappointment over the BOE’s decision to start requiring the PRAXIS test for teachers.

Although he supports testing, Bennett said teachers deserve the right to have some input before a final approval of the requirement.

“With PRAXIS testing not being a requirement under the present teacher contract, there could be some opposition to the testing being forced on teachers,” he said.

He also scored the fact that teachers will have to shoulder the expenses for taking the exam.

This issue comes on the heels of a recent controversy in the U.S. mainland involving the PRAXIS exam, where about 4,100 people who passed the test were incorrectly told they failed, delaying or preventing some from getting jobs.

The Educational Testing Service, a private company that administers more than 12 million tests worldwide, is now tracking down each person who received a faulty score to apologize and refund the $115 test fee and other expenses.

The company also notified the 19 states that use the Praxis exam in question, one that tests teaching and content knowledge for prospective educators of grades seven to 12.

As part of a regular review of scores, ETS found two groups of test-takers were given inappropriately stringent scoring on short-essay answers, said spokesman Tom Ewing.

Panels of current or retired teachers are routinely hired by ETS to grade the tests, he said.

The 4,100 people who received incorrect scores were among 40,000 people who took the test from January 2003 through April 2004, the company said.

A significant number of those who got faulty scores took the test again and passed, Ewing said, but he acknowledged “there are undoubtedly some who were turned away” from teaching jobs because of the error. (With AP)