New PRAXIS regs take PSS by surprise

Education officers from the Pacific attended a conference last week and were surprised to find out the U.S. Department of Education has raised its standards for elementary school teachers by requiring them to also pass the PRAXIS II exam.

Elementary teachers only had to hurdle the PRAXIS I test before.

Board of Education member Herman T. Guerrero said the new PRAXIS regulation was announced last week in Hawaii and that even Commissioner of Education Rita H. Inos was taken aback by the new regulation. Both Guerrero and Inos attended the conference.

Guerrero said the U.S. Department of Education deputy assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education Jeanette Lim said the new policy was set in line with the definition of acquiring and maintaining “highly qualified” teachers under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

“It was a surprise for all of us,” said Guerrero.

BOE policy made Praxis a CNMI requirement in July 2004.

The Pacific Resources for Education and Learning organized the conference last week, which was also attended by delegates from Guam, American Samoa, and Hawaii.

He said the PSS does not have much of a choice but to comply with the new regulation. Guerrero said the commissioner had already forwarded a memorandum to all public schools last Friday announcing the changes in PRAXIS requirement.

Guerrero said PSS’ entire federal grant is at stake if the CNMI does not comply. Right now, he said, the PSS is trying to work on something feasible for elementary teachers under the new rule.

He said the elementary school teachers would need to focus now on taking PRAXIS II with respect to their content knowledge specialization.

Substitute teachers

Teachers whose contracts will expire after Aug. 5, 2005 will still be hired even if they have not taken and passed the PRAXIS test, albeit only as “substitute” teachers, earlier reports said.

PSS associate commissioner David M. Borja disclosed this policy during the monthly BOE meeting on June 2. Borja earlier said the board made a policy that PRAXIS is compulsory and if the teacher’s contract ends before August 2005, he or she would still be renewed for one year but only as a substitute teacher. As such, he or she will not qualified for annual sick leave and other benefits.

Guerrero said that PSS would no longer make an exception by August 2006—the deadline for teachers to take and pass both PRAXIS I and II.

If a teacher’s contract ends after August 2005, Borja said the teacher would be rehired but he or she must pass PRAXIS I and II by August 2006. The board is giving CNMI public schools teachers until August 2006 to pass the exams; otherwise, their contract will not be renewed even as substitute teachers.

The new rule forces elementary school teachers to act immediately, said Guerrero, and if the new rule results in a shortage of more teachers, he said the commissioner will have to look at the situation in the coming school year.

Praxis II passing scores

Last month Inos issued new standard test scores for Praxis II to remind teachers of the cutoff scores that they must meet to remain with PSS.

Inos sent a memorandum to all schools informing public school teachers about the Praxis II scores, listing the possible range, the average scores, and the CNMI minimum scores, which are the standard scores required for passing content knowledge exams.

Inos earlier said that, for Praxis I tests, the State Board of Education has set 170 out of 190-or 85 percent-as the passing score for teachers taking the first Praxis. The score, she said, is very close to the national median of minimum passing scores for the exam.

For Praxis II, which consists of content Knowledge tests, the Education office established the following cut-off scores, which are the standard scores in the CNMI: Art Content Knowledge, 166; Biology Content Knowledge, 152; Chemistry Content Knowledge, 152; Earth and Space Sciences Content Knowledge, 152; General Science Content Knowledge, 153; Mathematics Content Knowledge, 136.

Other content knowledge tests with the CNMI standard scores are: English Language, Literature and Comprehension, 164; Social Sciences, 155; World and U.S. History, 152; Spanish, 160; Music, 150; and, Health and Physical Education, 150.

Passing scores for middle school courses were also included in the memorandum. Inos said the standard score for middle school Mathematics is 150; Science, 145; Language Arts, 158; and, Social Studies, 150.

Praxis and portability issue

The board said they are continually encouraging teachers to take the PRAXIS soon. PSS said earlier that 40 other states in the mainland have required teachers to pass the test, not only for stability in the school system but also for “portability.”

Portability means that if a teacher is qualified to teach in the CNMI, then that teacher is also qualified to teach in 40 other states.