TECHNICAL SUBMITTAL

Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA)

Request For Proposal #6100065014

I-1. Statement of the Project.

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit high-quality proposals from qualified bidders for alternate assessments in the areas of English/Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics and Science; these alternate assessments will measure the learning of Pennsylvania's students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. The ELA and Mathematics alternate assessments must be aligned to PA Core Standards, grade level standards for grades 3-8 and 11. The Science alternate assessment must be aligned to the PA Academic Standards in Science Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS), grade level standards for grades 5, 8, and 11. Guidelines detailed in this RFP are expected to yield immediate operational alternate assessments for 2027-3032.

The PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) must meet standards of best practice laid out in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education, 2014). The PASA must also satisfy the requirements laid out in the U. S. Department of Education Peer Review of State Assessment Systems: Non- Regulatory Guidance for States (U. S. Department of Education, 2015). The results of the PASA for ELA, Mathematics and Science are reported for state and federal requirements.

The purpose of the PASA is to:

• Maximize access to the general education curriculum for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

• Ensure that all students with disabilities are included in Pennsylvania’s statewide assessment and accountability systems; and

• Direct instruction in the classroom by providing important data and instructional resources to guide classroom decisions.

The PASA measures the performance of a small population of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities (intended for approximately 1% of the total student population) in the areas of ELA (including writing), Math and Science providing for the accessibility needs of this testing population.

Pennsylvania believes the assessment should lead to improved academic experiences and outcomes for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities by setting high and actionable academic expectations and providing appropriate and effective support to educators. Results from the PASA are intended to support interpretations about what students know and are able to do, and to support inferences about student achievement in https://www.pa.gov/agencies/education/programs-and-services/instruction/elementary-and-secondary-education/curriculum/science/science-standards https://www.testingstandards.net/uploads/7/6/6/4/76643089/standards_2014edition.pdf the given subject. Results provide information for state accountability programs and can also guide instructional decisions. Pennsylvania believes all students should have access to challenging, grade-level content and that the online PASA gives students with the most significant cognitive disabilities opportunities to demonstrate what they know in ways traditional paper-and-pencil, multiple-choice assessments cannot. The PASA is a summative assessment that is offered annually in the spring of each year and provides formative assessments that allow for instructional assessment throughout the school year.

State in succinct terms your understanding of the project presented, or the service required by this RFP.

Offeror Response

I-2. Qualifications.

A. Company Qualifications and Prior Experience.

Describe company’s qualifications and experience providing an alternate assessment that is a pre-established, ready to implement assessment system. Include all relevant information such as:

1. Names of current and previous customers and length of time that each has been using the assessment.

2. Customer retention rates.

3. Incidences of early termination of prior contracts.

4. Industry awards or recognition.

5. Expertise.

6. Capacity to meet requirements (size, financial condition).

7. Demonstrated ability.

8. Provide the resumes of the project management team and any personnel who will be involved in the completion of any work required or permitted by the contract resulting from this RFP. By submitting a proposal, the Offeror agrees the PA Department of Education (PDE) shall, for the life of the contract, have the discretion to accept or reject any personnel proposed to perform such work.

9. Provide three signed letters of recommendation from state education agency outside of Pennsylvania (SEA) level clients who have implemented your proposed assessment solution. Letters should be detailed enough to provide the evaluation committee with concrete information regarding the client’s experience with your company and its assessment. You must also include contact information for each client. PDE reserves the right to contact clients for additional information.

B. Personnel – Full Project Management

The PDE seeks full project management of the PASA. Pennsylvania is a large state, assessing approximately 18,000 students. Full project management activities will support the State to include, but are not limited to, an annual planning meeting(Virtual), a written annual project plan, weekly meetings(Virtual), with project manager, including meeting notes and action items, written summaries of activities relative to timeline and implementation plan, reminder emails on deliverables due, collaboration with other Pennsylvania assessment providers as needed, collaboration with Pennsylvania on investigations of testing irregularities and scoring questions, management of service desk that includes support with state and local level data management, response to routine questions using a centralized, searchable knowledge base and/or documentation containing vetted, scripted responses and program-specific information regarding frequently asked questions and other relevant items deemed appropriate in collaboration with the State. The Service Desk will escalate issues to the State, especially those impacting multiple users, and establish Service Desk office hours during high engagement periods for user support.

The Offeror will ensure the service desk includes at minimum one full-time staff customer service representative dedicated to Pennsylvania’s customer service needs.

Within 30 calendar days of the contract award, the selected Offeror must be in contact with PDE leadership to establish a meeting date(s) for short and long-term planning purposes.

The detailed project plan and schedule for development and implementation of assessment system procedures, training, technology supports, and data exchange timeline will be drafted for review and approval by PDE. The project plan will include, but is not limited to, the following: roles and responsibilities, project deliverables, quality assurance and communication plans, data flow diagrams and security profile, and proposed training and technical assistance schedule.

Assessment-specific data requirements to support delivery of the assessment and return of results will be identified and documented, presented to and approved by PDE, and appended to the project plan.

The selected Offeror shall provide an overall organizational chart illustrating key Roles: interrelationships, names, roles, levels of experience (including résumés) of the project management team and Offeror personnel who will be involved in the development and delivery of the alternate assessment system.

The selected Offeror must submit thorough documentation demonstrating personnel experience and expertise congruent with staff assignments for all aspects of the tasks outlined in the RFP. The selected Offeror shall provide plans and procedures to ensure staffing is commensurate with the project's scope of work throughout the duration of the contract and immediately notify PDE of any changes in key staffing including any subcontractors. PDE reserves the right to review and approve any proposed changes in key staffing or subcontractors or both. Detailed and sufficient information should be presented to PDE as to the efficacy of the proposed staffing solutions for this project and organizational arrangements of the same.

This information must include:

• An organizational diagram that indicates staffing arrangements for this service

• Time commitments of the proposed staff described in terms of projected hours per week devoted exclusively to PASA

• A detailed description of responsibilities for all proposed staff

• Detailed resumes for all key staff members associated with this project

The selected Offeror must identify a program manager to be the central point of contact with PDE for this service. The program manager and all other key staff, including content specialists, development supervisors, service desk staff, Pennsylvania specific service desk and research staff, must be identified by name and experience in writing. Current resumes for these key staff members and any other key staff should be included as part of the proposal. The selected Offeror is expected to demonstrate the individual identified as a program manager has sufficient authority across departments within the organization to ensure the work of the contract has the necessary priority to be completed with the highest quality and on time.

The program manager must have a minimum of a bachelor's degree; however, a master's degree or above is preferred. Project management certification through the Project Management Institute (PMI) as a Project Management Professional (PMP), or another recognized program management certification is preferred. The project manager should have at least three years' experience managing large-scale alternate assessment projects from conception through completion following industry-recognized project management methodology. Previous experience in projects involving elementary-intermediate or secondary-level testing or both is expected. The program manager must have strong organizational and managerial skills and a demonstrated knowledge of testing procedures.

1. The Program Manager will have the following responsibilities:

a. Shall develop and submit an annual detailed project plan and schedule, as outlined above, to PDE for review and approval with signoff. The purpose of the plan is to provide PDE with an overall analysis of the methods the selected Offeror will utilize to perform all aspects of the RFP in the required timeframe. The project plan will be developed and approved at the beginning of each year and the selected Offeror will not perform work on the project until PDE has accepted the selected Offeror's annual project plan.

b. Shall participate in meetings with PDE program staff. Coordinate and participate in annual start-up meetings and quarterly status meetings (one full day in length or two successive half days). The first meeting must be held no more than one month after final approval of the contract. Provide minutes of all meetings to PDE for review and approval. Virtual participation in the PA Technical Advisory

Committee (TAC) meeting once per year, and quarterly status meetings as needed.

Meetings can be virtual.

c. Shall submit monthly status reports to PDE that give an update on all phases of the development and implementation of the project and progress made in accordance with the detailed project plans and contractual requirements. Such monthly reports must include the following:

i. A current detailed listing of all work and activities completed and in progress with corresponding dates (additionally to occur bi-weekly during the testing window).

ii. A detailed list of upcoming work and anticipated completion dates.

iii. A list of all information needed from PDE in order to proceed with work.

iv. External dependencies, if any, that may affect the schedule, and the variance by which it would affect the schedule.

d. Shall coordinate and participate in conference calls weekly to discuss the status report and any issues related thereto. Provide minutes to PDE for review and approval.

e. Shall submit all deliverables and other work products in the manner prescribed by

PDE according to mutually agreed upon timelines to allow for appropriate review and approval. All documents and data files must be proofed for errors and in ready-to-use format prior to submission to PDE.

f. Shall maintain accurate, up-to-date information of the status of all selected Offeror and subcontractor(s) work on the project and communicate such to PDE in a timely manner. Immediately notify the PDE Director of Special Education, or designee, via telephone and in writing of any problem or potential problem which arises regarding quality, timeliness, or any other issues and the selected Offeror’s proposed solution. The issue and solution shall also be included in subsequent reports.

g. Shall oversee the development and implementation of changes as necessary to ensure the projects remain within specified scope and are within time, cost, and quality objectives.

h. Shall oversee the operations of the PASA and effectively communicate with teachers and PDE staff. This includes the effective and professional facilitation of trainings, technical assistance, and relationship building with all stakeholders involved.

i. The Program Manager or their designee shall be available 8am - 5pm Eastern

Standard Time, Monday through Friday, except state holidays, for program management purposes. The selected Offeror must also provide a means for key staff to be reached during periods of field and operational testing.

The selected Offeror must provide the resumes of the project management team and any personnel who will be involved in the completion of any work required or permitted by the contract resulting from this RFP. By submitting a proposal, the selected Offeror agrees the PA Department of Education shall, for the life of the contract, have the discretion to accept or reject any personnel proposed to perform such work.

I-3. Training. If appropriate, indicate recommended training of agency personnel. Including agency personnel to be trained, the number to be trained, duration of the program, place of training, curricula, training materials to be used, number and frequency of sessions, and number and level of instructors.

I-4. Financial Capability. Describe your company’s financial stability and economic capability to perform the contract requirements. The Commonwealth reserves the right to request additional information to evaluate an Offeror’s financial capability.

I-5. Tasks.

A. Test Design - Ongoing Development and Administration

1. Universal Design

The principles and practices of “universally designed” (UD) assessments are to be followed in the development and implementation of all components of the PASA.

Any UD principles used must not affect the assessment validity for students with disabilities. As part of the development process, items should be reviewed by a fairness and bias committee to determine if they meet the following UD principles:

• Multiple means of Representation – variations in the manner in which the test is presented

• Multiple means of Expression – allowing a variety of ways in which a student can show what they know

• Multiple means of Engagement – allowing opportunities for establishing interest in tasks

See:

• NCEO: An Updated State Guide to Universally Designed Assessments

• An Updated State Guide to Universally Designed Assessments (NCEO

Report #431)

• NCEO: Universal Design of Assessments Universal Design of

Assessments | NCEO

• NCEO: Universal Design Applied to Large Scale Assessments

Synth44Book.indb https://nceo.umn.edu/docs/OnlinePubs/NCEOReport431.pdf https://nceo.umn.edu/docs/OnlinePubs/NCEOReport431.pdf https://nceo.info/Assessments/universal_design https://nceo.info/Assessments/universal_design https://nceo.umn.edu/docs/OnlinePubs/Synth44.pdf

2. Accommodation and ADA

Assessments must comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Office of Administration’s Digital Accessibility Policy, which requires content and services to meet a minimum of WCAG 2.1 Levels A and AA adherence

Assessment must include accommodations and enhancements to individual students including capacity to securely print reading passages in limited capacity, use tests presented in a language other than English, adjust the size of the items and graphics, use pre-recorded wave files and convert item text to speech, and meet as many as possible of the other accommodations outlined in the Accommodations Toolkit | Accommodations Toolkit Introduction | Institute on Community Integration Publications. Accommodation must be able to be set by test administrators while approving students to take tests. Accommodation must also be set up through an upload process in advance of student testing. The selected Offeror will identify all accommodations available with the system and allow for online monitoring/tracking of accommodations by approved state, district, and school personnel. Proposals shall include a discussion of the impact of the proposed accommodations on the validity of the tests and a method for “flagging” students’ scores resulting from nonstandard test administrations or those that result in invalid score.

3. Test Design and Assessment Content

a. Test Design and Blueprints The selected Offeror must include a protocol to assist in initial placement of the student into the alternate assessment. The selected Offeror should demonstrate how existing blueprints of the assessment solution align to the PA Core Standards in ELA and Mathematics in grades 3-8 and 11 and PA Academic STEELS Standards in Science for grades 5, 8, and 11, and provide a detailed plan to create, maintain, and update test design and blueprints for each assessment throughout the contract period that includes the following, as applicable:

i. A computer adaptive testing system that will best meet the technical criteria included in this RFP.

ii. A detailed description of the adaptive testing solution that includes scoring and achievement standards.

iii. All relevant psychometric information about the proposed item pools and test blueprints.

iv. Alignment to the variety of depth of knowledge assessed, and alignment to the computer adaptive testing design.

v. Distribution of difficulties across the forms.

vi. Item and test characteristic curves.

https://publications.ici.umn.edu/nceo/accommodations-toolkit/introduction https://publications.ici.umn.edu/nceo/accommodations-toolkit/introduction https://publications.ici.umn.edu/nceo/accommodations-toolkit/introduction

vii. Explanation of the item selection process.

viii. Explanation of psychometric and item type comparability content and item types.

ix. Termination criteria.

x. Simulations to provide quality assurance to the computer adaptive test design and fidelity to the test blueprint.

xi. For students who cannot interact with a computer due to the significance of their disability (for example, nonverbal, low motor characteristics and nonfunctional communication students), describe how items will be made accessible.

xii. In very limited situations, the Offeror will provide for paper-based administration students who require Braille; for students who cannot interact with a computer due to a disability or other documented reason.

The proposed solution must explain how paper-based test forms, including Braille, would be made available, including:

1. Procedures for ordering, printing, delivery, and scoring of paper-based forms and Braille. Student responses to any paper-based assessment shall be collected electronically; no paper answer documents will be generated or scored.

2. Psychometric comparability of paper-based administration to the computer-based experience as closely as technology and cost constraints will permit.

3. A quality assurance process that implements and provides the highest quality materials possible.

xiii. Items to be presented as closely as possible to comparable computer-based delivery. The selected Offeror, upon award, will complete necessary crosswalks and alignment studies as outlined in the Psychometric section of the RFP and in collaboration with the PDE.

b. Item Bank.

The selected Offeror must provide an existing viable item bank starting in year one of the contract. However, the selected Offeror must ensure item development occurs strategically throughout the life of the contract to ensure the continued robustness of the item banks and student results are valid and reliable measures of student mastery on the PASA over time.

The proposed assessment solution must include an item bank aligned to PA Core Standards for grades 3-8 and 11 in ELA and Mathematics and PA Academic Standards for grades 5, 8 and 11 in Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability (STEELS) Standards (all end of year summative assessments). The proposed assessment solution must also include items that allow a student to access content at various levels of complexity.

The selected Offeror shall fully describe item banking functionality, including how it complies with the above and item evaluation and acceptance functionality:

i. Test form construction/adaptive delivery

ii. Comprehensive item management

iii. Change tracking

iv. Storage, review, and update of item-level meta-data

v. Future item development planning

vi. Item life-cycle management

vii. Item usage and exposure history

viii. Security of items

c. Item Specifications

The selected Offeror shall describe the source of the items in the pre-existing item bank. In addition, the selected Offeror shall demonstrate how all items to be used, regardless of source, have been or will be aligned to PA’s academic standards including PA Core in ELA and Math and PA STEELS standards.

alternate. The successful selected Offeror shall provide PDE with crosswalks and item alignment documentation as outlined in the Psychometric section of the RFP.

The selected Offeror shall identify how the assessment solution includes computer-scorable items for all assessments (including writing) to measure student understanding of the breadth and depth of the tested standards to the fullest extent possible. The selected Offeror must work within current technological and resource constraints using Universal Design principles in all aspects of item development work. The selected Offeror must show how the range of items meet these goals. The proposal must include and address the following:

i. Description of innovative technology and approaches to a variety of item types to assess the breadth and depth of the tested standards (for example, higher order thinking skills and understanding) in a way that captures student knowledge, skills, and the ability to apply them with greater accuracy while increasing student motivation, engagement, and enjoyment of the testing experience.

ii. Accessibility features set in an online platform (for example, text-to-speech, color contrast, American Sign Language, operability with single or two-switch assistive technology).

iii. Braille in Unified English Braille Code (UEB) and UEB and Nemeth for all items.

a. UEB Math/Science contracted

b. UEB with Nemeth contracted

c. UEB Math/Science uncontracted

d. UEB with Nemeth uncontracted

iv. For students who cannot interact with a computer due to the significance of their disability, describe how items will be made accessible to students who are non-verbal, have low motor characteristics, and/or low-functional communication.

v. Samples of each item type. Offerors must also provide a description and samples of each item type with their proposals.

d. Item Development

The selected Offeror shall provide a detailed description of the item development process and include:

i. Description of how PDE and PA educators will be included in the item development and review process.

ii. Description of the process and schedule for annual analyzing, reviewing, and revising all item banks used for each content grade level or course including how the PDE will be included. This process must provide a gap analysis and annual development plan.

iii. Description of all test development processes according to the test development plan including, but not limited to, internal, external, and editorial reviews; field testing; and preparation for operational delivery including accessibility tagging and quality control procedures.

iv. Description of the item development cycle including all review processes.

v. Listing of all newly created Braille items in UEB, and Nemeth and the levels at which they are developed.

vi. Specifications for all item development/review processes required by industry standards and necessary for federal and state accountability, such as:

1. Participant selection process

2. Structure and timing of reviews

3. Process for documentation and tracking

4. Training procedures for participants

v. A description of how the item development process is sufficiently flexible to accommodate changes to standards, which are possible at any time during the life cycle of an assessment contract.

B. Assessment Delivery

The selected Offeror shall describe its plan to provide a web-based adaptive assessment, associated software, associated implementation services, and application hosting necessary to meet the requirements of the RFP. Your proposal must include and address the following requirements:

1. A protocol for educators and test administrators to enter student specific information to provide accessible and appropriate access point routing for each student taking the alternate assessment.

2. Resources to assist educators and parents experience the assessment and/or engage with items in order to become familiar with the alternate assessment functionality, item types, and use of accessibility tools.

3. A robust technology plan that reduces the burden on school and district technology staff regarding:

a. Training and technical assistance resources that provide step by step technological enrollment procedures specific to Pennsylvania utilizing student information/data management systems and the interface of such systems with the assessment solution.

b. Loading and maintaining any applications required for testing and reducing network demands of test administration with the lowest bandwidth and support requirements possible.

c. Hardware support: Support of a variety of hardware and operating systems0020 in the PA technology environment and submission of a related plan to PDE for approval on an agreed upon date annually. The proposed solution must support the following:

i. Chromebooks

ii. Desktops and laptops (Windows and Macs)

iii. Multiple workstations (e.g., N-Computing)

iv. Thin client/hosted workstations (e.g., Citrix, VMWare, and Microsoft

RDC)

v. Tablets (e.g., iPad and similar tablets that use the iOS Operating

System, and other tablets)

vi. Browser support: Support the latest versions of web-based applications (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Edge) within 7 days of public release. Your proposal must include a plan for ensuring browser-based updates will be operational to LEAs within 7 days.

a. When web-based applications are no longer supported, the

Offeror will provide technical assistance and written guidance to schools to update applications or software to utilize the online platform.

b. If support for updates to web-based applications cannot be made within 7 days, a remediation plan with timeline must be submitted to PDE within 7 days of public release.

vii. System availability: The selected Offeror will provide a minimum of

99.9% availability, on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. EST to 4:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday, for all system users.

4. Usage monitoring and reporting: A system for the PDE and LEAs to monitor current system operation and usage including the number and type of all users currently active in the system, hosted system uptime, and hosted server/application health and availability.

5. Outage notifications: Email notifications will be sent to SEA and LEAs for any planned outage and for any unplanned outage lasting longer than 1 minute in duration. Outage notifications must include anticipated restoration times.

6. Security Plan: A plan for physical security and prevention of unauthorized access to all hosted components including any hosted database, operating system, application or content and the immediate network of the selected Offeror’s servers.

This shall include:

a. Password control, audit trails by sign-on, user-ID security, two-factor authentication, transaction field and field value level.

b. Protection of student data according to The Family Educational Rights and

Privacy Act (FERPA) rules.

c. Single Sign-On (SSO) integration plan that specifies the timeline to incorporate the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Okta SSO platform.

7. The selected Offeror shall provide a plan to ensure the system can assess approximately 18,000 students in ELA and Math and approximately 7,500 in Science.

8. The selected Offeror shall propose a test administration plan submitted annually, at an agreeable date determined by PDE and the selected Offeror, for PDE approval that includes the following:

a. Test Administration Manuals (TAMs). The selected Offeror shall propose, on a timeline, the development, review, update and distribution of electronic and print-ready and electronically available TAMs according to PDE specifications, including test administration instructions for all user roles and procedures for the provision of accessibility and accommodations for each assessment. PDE will review, provide feedback on and approve TAMs. TAMs will be the primary materials used during LEA training for each assessment, available to users no less than two months prior to the beginning of each test administration.

b. System User Guide shall be provided and updated each year at the same time as the TAM. This guide will also be used during LEA training for each assessment.

c. Process for identifying, managing, and updating LEA and school users and related permissions based on state-provided LEA data and LEA-provided school data.

d. Processes and procedures to ensure test administrators/proctors adequately conduct testing sessions according to each assessment’s requirements for standardized administration, test security and in accordance with PDE’s test security requirements for assessment coordinators and test administrators.

e. Processes and procedures to address all aspects of the testing system from software/hardware deployment and upload of student enrollments/test eligibility by PDE through test administration and the provision of return data for PDE reporting processes.

f. Processes and procedures to ensure student test settings and participation codes are collected for each test a student is eligible to take.

g. Online tools to monitor testing progress at SEA, LEA, school, test, class levels on demand/ real time including participation reports, test administration monitoring report, and tools for LEAs to easily review test eligibility, participation status and codes for each student’s assessment to facilitate updating of data in real time to support nightly transfer of data to the PDE.

h. Annual update of planned system improvements and changes.

i. Approach to coming technology improvement and software/hardware upgrades.

9. Delivery of Accommodations and Accessibility Features: The following are required:

a. Participation of all students with the most significant cognitive disabilities by incorporating appropriate accommodation and accessibility features not impacting the construct of the test, in accordance with IDEA, Section 504, and ESSA requirements.

b. Accessibility: Accessibility using assistive technologies and a description of how assistive technologies are used with the system such as, but not limited to; screen readers, eye gaze software, speech to text, and communication devices.

c. A description of access for students who have the most profound disabilities by providing flexible ways for students to respond, demonstrate knowledge, and engage with content of the assessment, on computer or off computer (manipulatives and teacher interaction) where appropriate.

d. Braille forms (UEB and UEB/Nemeth if requested), tactile graphic images, description of tactile manipulatives needed for items and a description of the delivery for students who require it.

e. Anticipated testing times and ability to test throughout the testing window.

f. The assessment solution will allow language translation and sign language translation in accordance with PDE policies and procedures.

g. Assistance to PDE on monitoring administration currently required for Peer

Review, including real time monitoring abilities of students and administration status and other applicable areas during the assessment window(s).

h. A description of available accessibility features as UDL components of test delivery and allowable accommodations.

C. Assessment Results –Scaling Scoring and Reporting

1. Scaling and Scoring

a. The selected Offeror shall work in collaboration with the PDE to determine a plan for scoring and reporting assessment results. The selected Offeror must respond to this RFP and provide a description of the following:

i. Completion of alignment studies with details showing alignment of alternate academic achievement standards to grade level standards and recommendations for where alternate academic achievement standards most closely align to PA state standards in ELA, Math, and

STEELS.

ii. Details of new academic achievement standards, new performance level descriptors, and standards setting, for use by the PDE in communication with the State Board of Education. .

iii. Utilize diagnostic classification model for scoring. All procedures, including possible standards setting procedures for each content area and the effect of diagnostic classification models must be described in detail including the roles of the selected Offeror and PDE in the process. The description shall also include possible impacts to public reporting of score results at the State and Local levels.

b. The selected Offeror shall describe the procedures for student enrollment in the alternate assessment solution including a description of the procedures, referencing appropriate documents, and training and technical assistance materials for school personnel. The selected Offeror must also ensure the system allows for:

i. The ability to manually modify rosters in the system

ii. The ability to manually add test administrators to the system

iii. A process for LEAs to add multiple roles to a user

iv. Participation Codes: A process for LEAs to mark special codes explaining why an eligible student has not taken an assessment, or describing special circumstances related to the student’s participation in the assessment, including the provision and use of specific accessibility tools and accommodations. PDE’s current participation codes are updated annually.

v. Codes tracking: A process for the system to automatically move and track test eligibility, participation codes, use of accommodations and student results even as student course enrollments or school enrollments change throughout each school year (July 1 – June 30).

c. The selected Offeror is required to produce a proficiency level for all students participating in the assessment that can be delivered in accordance with the Delivery of Results section below.

2. Delivery of Results

Assessment results must be reported in an interpretable, actionable, and "user friendly" format. The reporting system must be designed to complement classroom instruction, to facilitate the use of assessment results to improve student achievement, to assist educators in professional development for instructing this population of students, for parents to understand their child’s level of proficiency and to meet state and federal accountability requirements.

The selected Offeror must work with PDE to establish a workable data layout for the purposes of data exchange.

Accurate and timely scores and score reports for the assessments will be provided by the selected Offeror according to the following specifications:

a. Shortly after the closing of the administration window and in accordance with PDE’s file delivery requirements, the selected Offeror must provide to PDE district-level and school reports in electronic format in accordance with PDEs specifications showing the performance of all participating students in their districts and schools.

b. Weekly files need to be accessed from the selected Offeror to PDE during the testing window and a final cumulative file will need to be delivered to PDE and designee by mid-May of each operational administration year of the contract for purposes of including alternate assessment results in the aggregate with the general assessment results for accountability. The file format/layout will be in accordance with identified specifications set forth by PDE.

c. All data layouts need to be developed and approved based on PDE requirements.

d. Proposals must include a sample Individual Student Report as described above. Additional sample teacher, school, district, state, or parent reports must also be included in the proposal. The selected Offeror must provide its guidelines for scoring and reporting. The expectation for the error rate of data reports provided by the selected Offeror is zero. The selected Offeror shall provide individual printed student score reports in an accessible format font and provide the maximum amount of usable information. Selected Offerors shall submit sample reports to illustrate possible formats.

i. When necessary to fulfill the proposed assessment program, the proposed budget must include printing, shipping, and, delivery of score reports, and interpretive guides, if applicable.

ii. The selected Offeror shall include in the proposal the ability to print corrected copies of student reports, as needed, up to a year after each test administration. All requests for corrections will be initiated by and/or approved by PDE.

iii. All individual student printed student score reports must be distributed to schools, districts, charter schools and service providers by the Offeror in accordance with an agreed upon schedule and key project dates to be determined in the initial project planning meeting.

iv. Each individual student score report shall be printed in black and white (for the school) and in color (for the parent).

v. The selected Offeror shall assume all costs associated with shipping reports to the schools, districts, charter schools, service providers and PDE within the specified timeline.

vi. If PDE determines it is no longer necessary to issue printed score reports during the course of this contract, the Offeror will work with PDE to ensure electronic versions of individual student score reports are readily accessible to parents.

e. In addition to the individual student reports (ISRs), the selected Offeror shall also produce the following required reports: state, district, and school level aggregate reports, plus teacher and parents score report guides. The selected Offeror shall provide examples in response to this RFP.

f. In addition to the printed individual student score reports, the PDE requires an online reporting system with downloadable and printable data and reports for each assessment. The online reporting system will provide individual student results, class, teacher, school, district and state aggregate results as appropriate based on user role and ensuring FERPA-appropriate access to student data throughout and across each school year for school, district and state users. Districts/charter schools must also have electronic access to the results of students assessed outside of the district/charter school who are assessed at a service provider location.

g. The Offeror shall provide an option for the state to allow parents access to their child’s individualized score report electronically. The online score report access for parents must also include user friendly guidance for parents in an accessible format.

h. The Offeror must provide procedures that allow both the responsible school district and service provider to view score reports so all parties can access the data of their students who are receiving their education and assessment through a service provider.

3. Data Management and Quality

The PDE seeks full data management services. The selected Offeror will provide a comprehensive description of the support services that will be provided to the PDE and schools across the Commonwealth in this area including, but not limited to, selected Offeror staff assigned, training and technical assistance that includes detailed processes and procedures provided to support approximately 500 school districts, 200 charter schools, 17 cyber charter schools and additional service providers in the rostering, enrollment, delivery, administration, and reporting of the alternate assessment.. At minimum, the selected Offeror will provide the following as part of full data management services:

a. Establish a robust customer service center including:

o Support with state and local level data management.

o Response to routine questions using a centralized, searchable knowledge base and/or documentation containing vetted, scripted responses and program-specific information regarding frequently asked questions and other relevant items deemed appropriate in collaboration with the State.

o Escalation of service desk issues, especially those impacting multiple users in the State.

o Live Service Desk office hours during high engagement periods for user support.

b. Provides training and technical assistance support to educators and schools to complete rostering and enrollment individual students and assessor related information;

c. Provides training and technical assistance within a consortium of peer states in order to identify and develop common goals, solutions and support for PDE.

d. Develops user guides to support rostering, enrollment and how to rectify common errors

e. Registers educators (those associated with multiple districts or private schools);

f. Add district test coordinators (DTCs) and assigns DTC role with approval from the state;

g. Analyze enrollment file in collaboration with PDE’s data to resolve errors, ie.

duplicates and grade level mismatches

h. Checks various rosters/templates at least twice per year, and more frequently, as requested by PDE and troubleshoots for accuracy and completeness and consults with the State to improve data;

i. Provides monthly reports on data not available within existing data reports/extracts;

j. Provides comprehensive one-time reports upon request (state specific);

k. Provides customized GRF files specific to State data elements;

l. Loads data for school districts and users as requested by PDE;

m. Provide a full-time PA specific customer service representative to address:

o PA specific student enrollment processes o Provide rostering as needed o Consult with the PDE state level team about enrollment/data anomalies and communicate as appropriately with school entities regarding enrollment data.

o Consult with the PDE state level team and vendor project manager.

Upon contract award, the selected Offeror and PDE will collaborate to identify assessment-specific data exchange requirements and/or business rules. The selected Offeror will document the required data elements, attributes, relationships, and review the documentation with PDE.

The data requirements collaboration process will include data required by the selected Offeror to perform rostering and testing services, and data requirements per PDE. Additionally, both parties will define the schedule by which rostering and testing services, and data sets/results are required.

The selected Offeror will obtain approval from PDE, prior to implementation. PDE will have the final say in all assessment-specific data requirements and/or business rules decisions to include schedules, and addition or removal of assessment-specific data requirements and/or business rules.

In the event a significant data/data systems/data files issue is identified, (for example, compatibility of data elements across systems, file formats) it will be identified by the appropriate party. Relevant parties will discuss solutions, identify advantages/disadvantages to the proposed solutions, and relevant costs and PDE will select and authorize the most appropriate solution. The selected Offeror will develop and provide data exchange methods for unsupported assessment data.

4. Data Quality Assurance

a. The selected Offeror quality assurance team will provide a description of its procedures for ensuring the quality of data provided to PA. The selected Offeror will verify the accuracy and completeness of all data provided to PDE as part of their standard processes. The selected Offeror will generate and provide comprehensive and quality return data, which will meet PDE’s standards as identified during the requirements gathering process. The selected Offeror will identify anomalies in data, inform the PDE and communicate with LEAs directly regarding the need for data correction with PDE approved communications. The selected Offeror will also identify sites failing to meet deadlines set forth in the timeline and will communicate directly with these schools. PDE reserves the right to perform quality assurance on data received and to request corrections in data accuracy and completeness.

b. The selected Offeror shall provide PDE with access to student results and special codes to monitor progress.

c. The selected Offeror will provide PDE personnel with appropriate access through a user interface that will present results that can be organized by the state on a State, LEA, Service Provider, School, Teacher, and Student Level, as applicable. The Offeror will collaborate with PDE to determine the most appropriate method for data exchange for ease of use and error free reports.

d. The selected Offeror shall provide assessment files with results by the date specified during the annual requirements gathering phase to ensure PDE meets state and federal accountability reporting requirements. The files will be customized and aligned with the state information management system and data elements.

e. The selected Offeror will produce comprehensive student data results. During the annual requirements gathering phase the selected Offeror and PDE will establish the date or dates for assessment results deliveries. Information contained within the results will include data elements identified and documented during the requirements gathering phase and appended to the project plan after acceptance and approval by PDE.

5. Maintenance and Updates

The selected Offeror shall provide a description of how it maintains the assessment system using industry best software development/maintenance practices, and any authorized alternative assessment data exchange methods developed and provided in a routine maintenance report. The selected Offeror shall ensure industry best practices are maintained.

D. Training, Support, and Resources

1. Professional Development Training

a. The selected Offeror will propose a professional development program that includes readily accessible training and materials designed to help educators and parents understand the overall assessment design, administration of the assessment, available resources, and utilization of the results.

b. The selected Offeror must provide training and support for the proposed assessment program for ELA, Mathematics, and Science. Also, the selected Offeror must include in the proposal a detailed plan of action and timeline that describes how and when each of the training and support tasks will be accomplished. This will be outlined in a training report as determined collaboratively between the vendor and PDE. The selected Offeror shall identify and submit a comprehensive plan for training PDE leadership, district and service provider leadership, teachers/test administrators, and families. The comprehensive plan will include on site attendance at a minimum of one Pennsylvania conference annually to engage with educators and other pertinent stakeholders. Based upon PDE need, the annual comprehensive plan may include additional conference attendance. The comprehensive plan shall account for enrollment, utilization of available online selected Offeror resources, test administration procedures, timelines, and reporting. The selected Offeror shall follow the annual comprehensive training plan/schedule regarding frequency of training and training types outlined below.

c. Updated training modules will be posted for those who miss training each year of the contract.

d. The selected Offeror must provide appropriate training materials for PDE to review and approve no later than four weeks prior to all trainings. Specific dates to be determined in collaboration with the selected Offeror and PDE.

e. The selected Offeror will be responsible for setting up virtual trainings and providing all materials needed for each training as well as managing the pre-registration and set-up process for the training. The selected Offeror will record each training and make available the recording (in a format acceptable to PDE) and materials to PDE for potential posting for later viewing on a PDE web site or web site designated by PDE. The selected Offeror may also manage their own web site that includes training and guidance documents for the assessment.

f. Offeror will provide a Pennsylvania specific instruction and assessment resource website.

g. Offeror will work in collaboration with PDE to provide Pennsylvania specific instruction and assessment professional development unique and appropriate to PA as new content, state standards, initiatives, etc. are implemented.

h. Offeror will provide comprehensive training and technical assistance within a…