LOCAL BRIEFS Short story contest

The Philippine Consulate here is inviting Filipino-Americans in the CNMI to join this year’s Bienvenido N. Santos short story contest.

This is open to all persons residing in the U.S. who were born in the Philippines, or has lived in the country for more than five years, or those who trace roots back home.

Themes preferred are those relating to the lives of Filipino Americans. They must be in English, in double-spaced presentation and should not exceed 5,000 words. They must be original and are not yet published.

Deadline for submission is in May and winning entries will be announced the following month.

Winning entries will not only receive cash prizes but copies will be included in the second volume of the Philippine Arts, Letter and Media Council or PALM.

PALM is a group of Filipino Americans who yearly sponsor this short story contest. They are based in Washington, D.C. who promote awareness of the their cultural heritage, particularly in the fields of arts, letters and media.

Interested parties are advised to send entries to : The 1999 PALM Council Bienvenido N. Santos Short Story Contest, c/o Bobby M. Fedreigan, 6285 Dunaway Court, McLean, Virginia 22101-2205.

SAT 9 in April

Public schools in the CNMI will again face the Stanford Achievement Test 9th Edition in April. This second time around, the test will be given to students from kindergarten to senior high school.

Acting Associate Commissioner for Instruction Rita Sablan informed the Board of Education that the elementary schools are scheduled to take the test starting April 19. However, practice tests and workshops at school level will begin next month.

Last year, when it was first introduced in the CNMI, SAT 9 was given to students in grades 3, 5, 8, 10 and 11 to measure their performance against their counterparts across the mainland. This year it will be from kindergarten to grade 12.

Before PSS reported the SAT 9 scores to the public last year, Rep. Heinz Hofschneider already expressed great disappointment over the academic performance of students in public schools.

Out of the 750 grade three students who took the examination, 74 percent of the group was ranked under level one for reading based on actual number of questions answered correctly . The first level is characterized with little or no mastery at all on reading. Similar reading scores were also recorded for students in grades 5, 8, 10 and 11.

According to Commissioner of Education Rita H. Inos, SAT 9 serves as the basis for improving instruction. But administering the test is as costly as instruction. With the negative feedback PSS got from the first test, PSS officials do question their significance to the CNMI.

Inos has proposed to establish baseline data using local made evaluation instruments in addition to this stateside standard. Before assuming her post in June last year, she said one of her major goals as commissioner was to present other snapshots to prove that children are learning.