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Inos clears the air on PRAXIS
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Posted on Feb 23 2005
Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos yesterday assured Sen. Paul Manglona that the Public School System is preparing its teachers for their PRAXIS tests in August 2006.
Inos, reacting to recent a letter from the lawmaker, clarified that PRAXIS is both a national and local requirement.
She said PRAXIS is mandated by the “Highly Qualified Teacher” requirement of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 as well as the Board of Education, which made PRAXIS a CNMI requirement in July 2004.
She also said in her letter that the CNMI is not the only state requiring PRAXIS. “PRAXIS are used by 40 states and three territories to meet the rigorous test of teacher core knowledge competency as required by the NCLB Act of 2001,” she said.
Inos also stressed that the test is a property of the teachers and not the PSS, and thus its payment should be shouldered by the teachers and not by the government.
Inos also said PSS has been asking the Northern Marianas College for an update since August about the possibility of holding PRAXIS tests at their campuses on Tinian and Rota.
She said she will soon be meeting with NMC president Anthony Deleon Guerrero regarding these PRAXIS issues.
Inos said she will also ask the Sylvan Learning Center on Guam if it could extend its services to Saipan, Tinian and Rota and offer the tests online at selected PSS schools on each of the three islands.
In the meantime, Inos has told teachers to continue their preparations for the PRAXIS test. She said they should borrow the study guides provided by PSS in their schools and form study groups.
Inos also advised the teachers to attend content-rich institutes that provide refresher courses for the teachers.
“Consult with teachers at your school who have already passed the PRAXIS exams, as they can provide valuable guidance,” she said.
She said teachers should implement test skills they share with students like getting a good night sleep before exam day and eating a healthy breakfast and report to the test site with full confidence and on time. (Marconi Calindas)
