Sablan and Jackie Quitugua, deputy education commissioner for curriculum, instruction and assessment, said math and writing remain major areas of concern.
The two said PSS will implement the Accountability Achievement Plan, or AYP, beginning this school year to ensure that all students in public schools meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act which mandates that all students are able to read and write within their grade levels.
“AYP is an academic achievement accountability measure. PSS has selected as its AYP goal that 50 percent of students tested on SAT10 will be at the 50th percentile by 2010 using the complete battery, and that all students will meet or exceed challenging performance standards by 2014,” stated a PSS report.
Failure to achieve the federal mandates will jeopardize the U.S. grants received by the CNMI.
SAT 10 allows PSS to measure the academic knowledge and performance of its students.
PSS students have yet to attain the 50th percentile score but officials said they are close to achieving this goal.
Close to 11,000 students are currently enrolled at the 20 public schools on Saipan, Tinian and Rota. Classes for the current school year opened last Sept. 8.
Sablan said teachers are being prepared to ensure that their students are able to meet the 50th percentile SAT 10 score this school year.
PSS students in grades 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 11 should take SAT 10 by April or May 2010.
Grades 3 to 8 will take the reading test, including British and American literatures.
Grades 5, 7 and 11 will take writing exams while grades 3 to 8 must take math, with emphasis in algebra 1, geometry and algebra II for the upper grades.
Grades 4, 8 and 12 will take science exams.
Biology and chemistry exams will be taken by selected grade levels this school year.
