By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE Public School System says 91 of its teachers are teaching out of their fields of expertise, and this creates an impact on the learning of students.
PSS has 505 teachers on Saipan, Rota and Tinian.
Of that figure, 306 are considered highly qualified teachers, or HQTs.
But at the elementary school level, there are 40 who are teaching out of field; 30 at middle schools; and 21 at high schools.
Majority of these teachers have failed the Praxis tests.
PSS said classes taught by HQTs scored higher on the SAT 10 than classes taught by teachers with less experience and fewer degrees.
According to PSS, elementary schools have 226 teachers teaching in their fields of expertise of which 138, or 61 percent, are highly qualified.
PSS said 47 of these 138 HQTs have master’s degrees; 89 have bachelor’s degrees; 1 has a Ph.D.; and 1 has a J.D.
Of the 128 elementary school teachers who are not HQTs, 75 have BA degrees teaching in their fields, and 38 with BA degrees are teaching out of their fields.
Thirteen teachers with MA degrees who are not HQT are teaching in their fields, while two teachers with MAs are teaching out of field and are not highly qualified.
PSS says that the remaining 88 elementary teachers who are not yet HQTs are either waiting for their test results or will be taking or retaking the Praxis test within this year.
Education Commissioner David M. Borja said the challenge for PSS is to help these teachers become HQTs or to find replacement teachers who are highly qualified.
PSS has 138 HQTs out of 266 elementary school teachers.
At the high school level, 110 teachers are teaching in their field of expertise of which 96, or 87 percent, are highly qualified teachers.
There are 14 high school teachers who are not yet HQTs and 21 are teaching out of field.
Of 131 high school teachers, 96, or 74 percent, are highly qualified.
Thirty of the 96 HQTs have master’s degrees; 62 have BA degrees; 2 have Ph.Ds; and 2 have J.D.s.
Of the 35 high school teachers who are not HQTs, six have BA degrees who are teaching in field, while two with BA degrees are teaching out of field.
“It is interesting to note that 9 of 43, or 21 percent, of our high school teachers with MA degrees are non-HQTs. This underscores the importance of taking and passing core content knowledge tests,” Borja said, adding that a degree, even an advanced degree in the subject being taught, is not sufficient evidence of core content knowledge.
At the middle school level, PSS has 30 teachers who are teaching out of field.
Of the 79 middle school teachers, only 34, or 43 percent, are highly qualified.
Of the 34 HQTs, 11 have MA degrees and 23 have BA degrees.
Of the 45 who are not HQTs, 12 have BA degrees and are not yet highly qualified. Twenty-six with BA degrees are teaching out of field.
PSS said two middle school teachers with MA degrees who are teaching in field and three teachers with MA degrees teaching out of field are not highly qualified.