‘Teachers pay for PRAXIS, but may get reimbursed’

Teachers are going to shoulder the expense of taking the PRAXIS test, but may be reimbursed after their term of employment by the Public School System, according to Board of Education teacher representative Ambrose Bennett.

Bennett said that the School Reform Committee met yesterday and decided that teachers will pay for the exam.

“We decided that we’re going to send teachers a letter informing them about PRAXIS and that [teachers] will have to pay for it,” he said.

Bennett, who is vice chair of the committee, said, however, that the committee has agreed to place on the agenda of their next meeting a discussion on a proposal that PSS refund the cost of the initial test for teachers that pass the test.

“If approved, the refund in the proposal will be given upon [teachers] leaving, whether they retire or resign,” he said. “PSS will only refund the cost for one test. If a teacher fails the first, and passes the second, that teacher will be reimbursed for only one.”

Further, Bennett encouraged teachers at the high school level to be aware of the several requirements in taking the PRAXIS, particularly their subject of teaching.

“Teachers at the high school level in particular need to make sure they are teaching their preferred course,” he said. “If a teacher has a BA degree in economics but is teaching Language Arts, that teacher will take PRAXIS in Language Arts, not the course he or she majored in college. Teacher and principals need to be mindful of that, but it helps to strengthen our system, because it puts teacher in the right position.”

Bennett said high school teachers would be required to take PRAXIS I and II, while elementary school teachers need only take PRAXIS I. Each test costs about $90.

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.

Last May, a validation test was administered to volunteer principals, teachers, and NMC education students.

PSS commissioner Rita Inos earlier said about 80 percent of the public school teachers who volunteered to take the PRAXIS passed it.

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.

Examinees are given an hour each to complete the math and reading comprehension parts, and another two hours for writing.

Inos said the test is meant to raise the standard for quality teachers. She said that proof of teacher core knowledge is one of the three key requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act. The other two are that all elementary and secondary teachers must have at least a bachelor’s degree and have attained full state teacher certification.

The Public School System receives over $10 million in federal grants that are conditioned on compliance with the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Inos reiterated that she is confident of the skills and professionalism of the teachers serving in the CNMI’s public schools.