‘80 percent hurdle PRAXIS’

Acting Commissioner of Education David M. Borja proudly announced yesterday that almost 80 percent of public school teachers who have taken PRAXIS I and II passed the certification exam.

He said that, based on the preliminary consolidated reports from all public schools that were submitted to his office, almost 80 percent of public school teachers have turned in favorable results for PRAXIS II certification exams. Currently, Borja said, there are 612 public school teachers under the wings of the Public School System.

Borja said the Commonwealth will more than likely meet the August deadline for the PSS to have all of its teachers pass PRAXIS I and II.
“I am very optimistic that the teachers will meet the deadline,” said Borja.

He conceded, though, that the results for PRAXIS I were not as good as the results for PRAXIS II.

He said the Central Office would have to hire new teachers to replace those who will fail the deadline and do not want to pursue the certification requirement.

Early this month, at least 300 teachers simultaneously took PRAXIS I and II at the three Northern Marianas College campuses on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

The results of the exam come out six weeks after the exam date. Public school teachers who have yet to sign up for the exams will still have two chances to take the certification exams in April and June.

PSS federal programs advisor Tim Thornburgh told the Board of Education during its regular meeting this month that teachers have been providing the Central Office “great” results with regards to taking PRAXIS.

“Teachers are doing better,” he said, adding that the office would still have to consolidate further documents submitted to them for final reporting.

He earlier had told the board that a number of reviews have been conducted by fellow teachers, PSS officers, and the Central Office itself.

The Central Office will submit a PRAXIS status report to the U.S. Department of Education in May, as required by state officials, according to Borja.

In a letter from the U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, she said the department would review each state’s progress in meeting the “Highly Qualified Teachers” goal. If a state falls short of the HQT goal by January 2006, Spellings said a revised plan must be submitted to the USDE by May 31, 2006.