‘Now is time to prepare for Praxis test’

A Praxis trainer yesterday urged schoolteachers and education students to start preparing now for the exam, which she described as “very challenging.”

Brante Dashiell, an instructor at the Northern Marianas College-School of Education, said she will start conducting workshops to prepare examinees for the Praxis as soon as NMC receives feedback from the exam administrator—the Educational Testing Service—regarding the validation study held in the CNMI.

The Praxis test is designed to be used principally by state authorities for the purpose of licensing education professionals. Nearly 80 percent of states that include tests as part of their teacher licensure process rely on the Praxis series.

The Board of Education earlier announced that the more than 500 teachers in CNMI public schools will be given the whole of school year 2005-2006 to pass the Praxis—or they will lose their jobs. Education commissioner Rita Inos said the test is meant to raise the standard for quality teachers.

Last May, a validation test was administered to volunteer principals, teachers, and NMC education students. Results of this study will be used as guide in establishing the CNMI’s passing scores on the Praxis assessment. Each state sets its own passing score on the Praxis.

Some 80 percent of the public school teachers who had volunteered to take the PRAXIS passed it, Inos said.

“The teachers did very well. We submitted the results in June and we are expecting to hear from ETS in a couple of months. We’re looking at having the first Praxis test on island in spring,” said Dashiell.

While the formal Praxis preparation workshops will not start by about fall, teachers and students are urged to now start getting themselves familiar with the test format.

The Praxis is a timed assessment, Dashiell said. Examinees are given an hour each to complete the math and reading comprehension parts, and another two hours for writing. Because English is not the native language of local teachers, they will be given 50 percent additional time for each part.

“The Praxis is a very difficult test. It’s very challenging. Some people have to take it over and over again,” noted Dashiell, who has conducted Praxis preparation sessions since 1999.

She said individuals who will be taking the exam in the CNMI should focus on widening their vocabulary, among other things. She added that examinees will not be taught specific subject matters at the workshop.

“If they don’t know math, I will not teach it. I will only show them ways how to take the test, how to pace themselves, and how to eliminate answers that don’t need to be considered,” she said. “I will give them the tools, but it’s up to them how to put them to use.”

Dashiell recommended a minimum of 20 hours of workshop for the examinees.