13478-20240725135414 GREENVILLEPSD.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

#991-1

District Benchmark and Formative

Assessments

Greenville Public School District

412 S. Main Street

Greenville, MS 38701

Dr. Janice Monroe, Superintendent

(662) 334-700

Date: June 24, 2024

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Greenville Public School District will receive sealed and/or electronic proposals up to and no later than 1:00 p.m. Thursday, August 12, 2024, in the Business Office of the District at 412

South Main Street, Greenville Mississippi for the procurement of a District Benchmark and

Formative Assessment. A copy of the Request for Proposals (RFP) can be obtained by emailing Keturah Bush at kBush@gpsdk12.com. Official proposal documents can be downloaded from Central Bidding at www.centralbidding.com. Electronic proposals can be submitted at www.centralbidding.com For any questions relating to the electronic bidding process. please call Central Bidding at 225-810-48 14. Sealed proposals must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked as follows:

“RFP 991-1: District Benchmark and Formative Assessment.’ Envelopes not so marked will not be considered.

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to waive informalities and to reject any and all bids.

Dr. Janice Monroe

Superintendent of Schools

INSERT: July 24, 2024

July 31, 2024 http://www.centralbidding.com/

Introduction

The Greenville Public School District's instructional philosophy is to ensure maximum learning takes place in a safe and positive environment. Teachers serve as positive role models, mentors, and contributing team members who adhere to and enforce, district and school policy. Teachers will use the district's instructional delivery model to ensure effectiveness and consistency.

Instruction is student-centered and focused on mastering District curricula aligned with state standards and frameworks. Essential elements of quality instruction include but are not limited to implementing the district curricula, teaching to the standards, utilizing effective delivery methods, assessing, re-teaching, and providing expanded opportunities in the learning process.

All training and materials must be aligned with the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards. The professional development provided to teachers must be ongoing and give them the tools needed to prepare their students for state-mandated tests, high school completion, and post-secondary education.

Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The Greenville Public School District (GPSD) through the Department of Instructional Programs is soliciting competitive written proposals from qualified Vendors for administering assessments for the English Language Arts and Mathematics Grades 2-9, Science Grades 5 and 8, Algebra 1, Biology, U.S. History and English Il that are completely aligned to the state's adoption of the 2016

Mississippi College and Career-Readiness (CCR) Standards for English Language Arts and

Mathematics, 2018 Mississippi College and Career Readiness (CCR) Standards for Science.

2.0 Project Overview

The Greenville Public School District (GPSD) through the Department of Instructional

Programs is to procure a Vendor that will assist the district in the development and administration of its summative and formative assessment programs in ELA and Mathematics, for both Grades 3-8 and Science Grades 5 and 8, Algebra I, Biology, U.S. History and English

11. These tests will be based on the Mississippi CCR Standards and Mississippi State

Frameworks (MSF) (or an updated/revised version) and must be fully aligned with them.

Greenville Public Schools is requesting that each interested vendor prepare a response to this proposal in the following manner:

• Design of the Assessment Program

• Development of New Items and Test Forms

• Online Assessment and Technology Delivery System

• Test Administration

• Production of Support Materials

• Processing and Scoring of Test Materials

• Psychometric Analysis Reporting

• Training

• Customer Support

District Benchmark and Formative Assessment

SPECIFICATION RESPONSE FORM

BIDDER SHALL COMPLETE BY CHECKING THE FOLLOWING WHERE

APPLICABLE.

• Management of the Assessment Program

• Cost Proposal Format

GPSD's primary goal with respect to test design is to ensure that the assessments measure student mastery of the Mississippi standards and accomplish this in the most cost-effective way. GPSD requires that the test administration not be longer than the amount of time currently spent for testing in the state.

The Request for Proposals (RFP) includes programmatic, technical, and psychometric activities for each of the following components of the Districts assessment programs:

Component 1 Benchmark and Formative Assessments

• English Language Arts (ELA) Grades 2-9

• Mathematics Grades 2-9

• Science Grades 5 and 8

• U.S. History

• Biology

• Algebra I

• English Il Component 2

The vendor must address the work requirements for all components and provide pricing for each component. The vendor will need to address all the work activities required for these components. The vendor must bid on all components, and costs must be provided for each component along with a total cost for the entire program.

All services related to test design, item development and review, item banking, test production, online administration, data files, and score reports for the GPSD are the responsibility of the vendor selected under this RFP.

The following areas of support must be addressed in your proposal as it pertains to the District

Benchmark and Formative Assessment Services and professional development:

• Grades 2 - 9, Algebra l, English Il, and Biology shall consist of a combination of multiple-choice (MC), constructed-response (CR), writing tasks, and technology-enhanced (TE) items, as well as performance tasks (PT) types of items that measure student knowledge, skills, and abilities in depth. The representation of higher cognitive complexity should be in sync with the complexity level of the standards.

• The tests for Social Studies shall consist of multiple-choice (MC) items. The representation of higher cognitive complexity should be in sync with the complexity level of the standards.

Test forms will include single-item types while bearing in mind the length of time to administer the assessments must not be longer than the amount of time currently spent for testing in the state.

BIDDER SHALL COMPLETE BY CHECKING THE FOLLOWING WHERE APPLICABLE.

» The vendor will create a customized plan that includes timelines for professional development and support that includes recommendations for training of GPSD Principals and School Test Coordinators, technical onboarding assistance, online job-embedded resources, and easy online access to chat with support professionals. Please make sure the plan addresses professional development by elementary, middle, and high school divisions.

The vendor must have an online student testing interface that directly mirrors high-stakes testing experiences:

➢ Online tools (i.e. four-function calculator, graphing calculator/tool, highlighter, compass, ruler, straightedge, protractor, eliminator, pencil, strikethrough, reset, etc.)

• Part A, part B, and multi-select questions o Split screen support for reading selections and associated test items

• Review item flag and assessment summary screen: Writing tools including cut, paste, copy, undo, redo, font format, spell check, and paragraph format among other basic word processing functionalities o Audio accommodations either through text-to-speech or through recorded audio

• Visual accommodation tools including magnification, reverse contrast, and selection of foreground and background colors

At least twice a year, the GPSD conducts a formal training session for school test coordinators.

The initial Face-to-Face training, facilitated by the vendor, must occur early in the first nine weeks using a demo site. Based upon this training, the school test coordinators provide training within the school to school-level personnel (principals, school test coordinators, test administrators, and proctors). The GPSD program coordinator, in conjunction with the vendor's program coordinator, will develop a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation for the district test coordinator training sessions twice a year. The presentations will provide program updates on all test administrations. The second Face-to-Face follow-up training will occur after the first-semester assessment results are received. Training sessions shall be recorded and archived as a potential future training or reference resource. GPSD will approve all materials.

The vendor must submit a proposal that includes examples of assessment items for Grades

2-9, Algebra I, English Il, US History, and Biology that is aligned with Mississippi

College- and Career-Readiness Standards.

SPECI FICATION RESPONSE FORM

BIDDER SHALL COM PL ETE BY CH ECKING TH E FOL LOWING WHERE APPLICABLE.

"2016 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for English Language Arts https://www.mdek12.org/secondaryeducation/englishlanguage

"2016 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Mathematics" https://www.mdek12.org/secondaryeducation/mathematics

"2018 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science" https://www.mdek12.org//sites/default/files/documents/Secondary%20Ed/2018-msccrs

"2018 Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards for the Social Studies"

Https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Page_Docs/FINAL-2018-Mississippi-CCR%SocialStudies-

Standards.pdf

A comprehensive posttest must be provided for Grades 2-9, Algebra 1, English 11, US

History, and Biology that is fully aligned with the state's blueprint.

A comprehensive pre-test must be provided for Algebra 1, English 11, US History, and

Biology that is fully aligned with the state's blueprint.

> The vendor must provide blueprints that identify the number and types of items used to measure the targeted content standards. The vendor must also provide information regarding item characteristics (e.g., difficulty, discrimination, cognitive demand, etc.) must be provided for each formative and summative assessment given.

> The writing component of the ELA assessment for grades 2-9 and English I I must be administered online with the exception of those with specific disabilities or accommodations that 12 don't allow for online testing. The writing component must be fully aligned with the state practice test and blueprint.

➢ All assessments must be comprehensive for Grades 2-9, Algebra 1, English 11, US

History, and Biology, and fully aligned to the state's blueprint.

The GPSD and vendor shall work closely with the Department of Instructional Programs

Chief Academic Officer to maintain general and appropriate test blueprints. The vendor shall review and update test and item specifications that conform to these blueprints, develop test items, and construct the appropriate number of equated test forms that correspond to the blueprints. Proposals shall include a detailed Item Development Plan that describes how these tasks will be accomplished. The vendor shall update the test blueprints if necessary (based on the general blueprints designed by the GPSD content specialists).

The final blueprints will serve as the roadmap for item development and should not change once defined. They shall be based upon the consensus of the GPSD content specialists and must be approved by the Chief Academic Officer, respectively.

https://www.mdek12.org/secondaryeducation/englishlanguage https://www.mdek12.org/secondaryeducation/mathematics https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/documents/Secondary%20Ed/2018-msccrs https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Page_Docs/FINAL-2018-Mississippi-CCR%25SocialStudies-Standards.pdf https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Page_Docs/FINAL-2018-Mississippi-CCR%25SocialStudies-Standards.pdf

» The Department of Instructional Programs curriculum leads will review and approve the vendor-developed items that appear on these tests. The tests must be aligned with the Mississippi CCR Standards, the Mississippi State Frameworks (MSF), and GPSD blueprints. The results of these assessments will provide information that will be used to improve student achievement in GPSD.

The vendor shall be responsible for providing and developing appropriate items in sufficient quantities to produce an appropriate number of tests, as well as item banks for each test.

The GPSD expects at least a 95% acceptance rate by item review committees for the number of items developed each year of the contract. The vendor will have to revise items or develop additional items at no additional cost to the GPSD should the GPSD acceptance rate fall below 95%.

The vendor must provide dedicated technical support. The vendor must provide full contact information for the specific person(s) who will be responsible for this contract, including name, address, telephone number(s), and email address along with the vendor's company contact information at no additional cost. Support services must also provide guidance documents (FAQs, troubleshooting guides, etc.) that address logistical and administrative needs.

The first online administration of the assessments must be in place by October 2024, and ongoing psychometric work must be done to ensure the reliability and validity of all assessments. The GPSD will specify a two-week testing window for benchmark assessments and one week for formative assessments when all schools in the district will need to administer the assessments. Make-up dates are included in the testing window.

The vendor must provide Items and an Item Bank that has the following:

• More than 60,000 test items; o Includes items that are multiple-choice (MC), constructed response (CR), writing tasks, technology-enhanced (TE) items, and performance tasks (PT) types of items;

• Enhanced Content in four core subject areas, grades 3-8;

• Developed by content-specific item development Specialists; and

• Aligned to Mississippi CCR Standards and Mississippi State Frameworks (MSF).

Strict, proven privacy practices to secure student data results must be reported to the

GPSD no later than three business days for formative assessments and five business days for benchmark assessments after the close of the assessment window. Test results will be reported at the district, school, classroom, and student levels. Test results will include frequencies, proportions, mean/standard deviation of scaled scores, and standard errors where appropriate.

➢ For proposal development purposes, the vendor shall assume that each benchmark assessment form will contain at least 50-60 items total and each formative assessment will contain at least 20- 30 items total. A variety of item types are required for all benchmark and formative assessments and all assessments will be the property of

GPSD.

All tests will become the property of the GPSD and have the rights to the item bank that is developed for ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, and increase its size in future years.

The vendor shall accommodate the assessment of students with disabilities (SWD) and students with an established 504 plan. Allowable and non-allowable accommodations shall be identified in publications provided by the vendor. Current accommodated materials include large print forms, teacher-read directions, and Read Aloud Forms (oral scripts that are exact copies of the test to be read aloud to students with reading accommodations).

GPSD plans to use the student’s IEP to identify appropriate accommodations for individuals that need them.

For cost estimation purposes, the vendor shall assume a total of 10 copies of the large print edition for each administration of the ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies assessments. Cost proposals should indicate the cost for the development of large-print booklets.

For cost purposes, the vendor shall plan to deliver enough items for teachers to create ELA, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies biweekly assessments. For future years, item development will be needed to replenish the item bank from the usage of items in new forms to include a variety of item types.

The vendor will provide test administration manuals that will be used by test administrators and proctors during the actual administration of the tests to students. The manuals shall contain detailed information regarding the following: pre-testing activities, conducting standardized administration of the assessments via online testing, and solving any problems that arise. The vendor must submit the manual to the GPSD for approval prior to finalization.

GPSD requires that the successful vendor provide a hosted infrastructure service solution that integrates with existing GPSD/district data systems. Ideally, the successful vendor will host an end-to-end online testing service, given pre-loaded student demographic data from the state and or district systems. The system shall be fully functional and capable of independent operation between GPSD and the successful vendor. The system proposed for use in this RFP shall have been in place for at least two years and have a track record of operational excellence in delivering high-stakes assessments for school districts. In addition, the system must include front-end data validation (e.g., the same student identification number cannot appear in multiple locations for administrations occurring on the same day; if the data from the district SIS package and GPSD Data Management System are not consistent then there should be rules to reconcile the data, etc.).

3.0 - Reporting The vendor must post all reports to a secure website/portal hosted by the vendor in an easy-to-read format and the reporting system shall be designed to complement and improve classroom instruction.

The vendor's system will include the ability to manage pre-formatted reports, generate custom reports, and create teacher comparison reports to compare performance by teachers and target professional development.

The benchmark score reports will provide a measure of each student's performance as aligned with the GPSD pacing documents for the tested content area AND provide a projection of the anticipated performance level on the MAAP spring assessment.

Specific information to be included on score reports shall be determined and approved by the GPSD. Formats for score reports shall be developed and/or revised. Individual score reports shall be available for each student, and summary reports shall be printed at the classroom, school, area, and district levels. The exact format of the score reports will be determined in meetings between the vendor and the GPSD prior to printing and distribution. After the report formats have been determined, the vendor shall prepare accurate printed examples of the reports using mock data. The vendor shall submit the report mockups to the GPSD for approval.

Following each test administration, the vendor shall ensure that the data on all reports are accurate and correct. This quality control of data/reports and approval process shall be designed to be completed within a very short time frame (three to five days). Score reports are deliverable to the district no later than five days after the close of the testing window for benchmark assessments and three days for formative assessments.

The vendor shall maintain the security of all individual test results. Individual test information shall be made available only to GPSD, authorized school district personnel, and other entities identified and authorized by GPSD. The vendor shall indicate how it proposes to do this.

Information on the types of score reports and recipients is provided below:

Reports District

Item Analysis X

Standards Analysis X

Class and School Summary Report

X X

Demographic Summary Report X X

Student Data File (post to secure file transfer site)

X

Performance Level Report X

Formative Assessment Score Report (indication of performance based on GPSD pacing documents and excluding areas not yet explicitly taught)

SPECI FICATION RESPONSE FORM

4.0 - Pricing and Fee Structure

All annual costs for the proposal should be calculated using the Spring 2024 student enrollment which provides information on the expected number of test takers each year for grades 3-8, Algebra 1, English II, US History, and Biology 1.

5.0 — Corporate Capacity

The Vendor must present a description of their corporate capabilities and experiences. The

Vendor shall provide the company's history, including the number of years that it has been in business, buyouts, takeovers, IPO's, bankruptcies, litigations, and claims, etc. within the last 5 years, or for that period which the firm has been in business if less than 5 years. The Vendor shall provide their principal place of business and, if different, the place of performance of the proposed contract. The Vendor shall also provide the age of their business and the average number of employees within the last five years.

A general description of the Vendor's capabilities and capacities related to development, production, administration of online assessments, scoring, data processing, reporting, and psychometric activities shall be included. Responses must demonstrate that the Vendor meets, at a minimum, the mandatory qualifications presented at the beginning of this component. The description shall also identify the number of employees in the company and the company's location(s), including any presence in Mississippi. The overall capacity of the Vendor's organization(s) and the resources that it will commit to the work for the project

(by name and role in the project) shall be provided.

The Vendor must submit a proposal that includes examples of assessment items for Grades

2-9, Algebra 1, and English 11. US History, and Biology that are aligned with Mississippi

College- and Career Readiness Standards:

"2016 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for English Language Arts

"2016 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Mathematics" https://www.mdek12.org/secondaryeducation/mathematics

"2018 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science" https://www.mdek12.org//sites/default/files/documents/Secondary%20Ed/2018-msccrs

"2018 Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards for the Social Studies" Https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Page_Docs/FINAL-2018-Mississippi-CCR%SocialStudies-

Standards.pdf https://www.mdek12.org/secondaryeducation/mathematics https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/documents/Secondary%20Ed/2018-msccrs https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Page_Docs/FINAL-2018-Mississippi-CCR%25SocialStudies-Standards.pdf https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/Page_Docs/FINAL-2018-Mississippi-CCR%25SocialStudies-Standards.pdf

» Organizational Structure: Organizational charts, including identification of Executives and personnel, for the Vendor as a whole and for the GPSD project team specifically, including subcontractors where applicable, must be provided. The charts shall indicate lines of authority and communication within and among the Vendor's departments and subcon4actors, where appropriate. The Vendor shall also describe its escalation process for resolving any vendor/client disagreements.

The vendor must provide dedicated technical support. The vendor must provide full contact information for the specific person(s) who will be responsible for this contact, including name, address, telephone number(s), and email address along with the vendor's company contact information at no additional cost. Support services also must provide in the form of guidance documents (FAQs, 4oubleshooting guides, etc.) that address logistics and administrative needs. Changes to the assigned executive team member, except for those resulting from the separation of services, require prior written consent by Chief Academic

Officer. The replacement shall have qualifications that meet or exceed the original staff member proposed or the staff member holding the position previously and shall be approved by GPSD.

➢ Time Allocation of Key Personnel and Services. The Vendor shall provide a list of key staff, including but not limited to, the program manager, program coordinator(s), lead psychometrician, content development lead, content-specific area leads, technology lead, scoring manager(s), production manager(s), and publication staff.

Each staff member's assigned responsibilities and time allocated to the project must be provided. Time expected to be allocated by key staff to other projects must also be indicated. In no case should an individual be assigned to more than one full-time equivalent position.

➢ Risk Management and Quality Assurance. The vendor shall specifically address timeline issues, risks, and mitigation and contingency plans for all aspects of the project. These plans should refer to more than just communication." Additional details may be provided in the response to relevant requirements and specifications.

➢ The Vendor should highlight its proposed subcontractors’ proven ability to document and enact risk management strategies — especially as they relate to the development, production, administration (online assessments), scoring, data processing, reporting, and psychometric activities for high-stakes assessments.

➢ The Vendor should submit sample Risk Assessment documentation used in an existing program to demonstrate the comprehensiveness of its ability to conduct contingency planning for a variety of conditions. This Risk Assessment documentation may be submitted as an attachment to the proposal. This documentation should also highlight internal procedures and protocols for quality assurance in all aspects of delivering large-scale, districtwide assessments — including test development, production, administration of online assessments, scoring, data processing, and reporting.

➢ The vendor shall ensure that all data operations are subject to multiple checks for accuracy before data files and reports are released. The vendor shall include in its proposal a complete description of its quality control (QC) procedures used in the reporting process, for GPSD review. The procedure shall include hand calculations of a sample of student reports, and aggregation of student results from the school level to the district level. This should first take place with a test deck of mock student data when the scoring and reporting system is first finalized, and Gen be repeated when the first live student data is received. The goal is to demonstrate that the scoring and reporting system is error-free. The vendor shall indicate in detail how it proposes to do this.

Cost Management: The vendor must discuss how they will monitor and maintain cost control in the project. Specific information on procedures used for cost management is encouraged. The following items need to be addressed in the Vendor's proposal.

Assessment Costs: The evaluation process is designed to award this procurement to the Vendor whose proposal best meets the requirements of this RFP and is most advantageous to GPSD, not necessarily to the Vendor with the lowest cost. However, Vendors are encouraged to submit proposals that are consistent with state government efforts to conserve district resources.

A. Other Information: The GPSD may conduct discussions with Vendors in the acceptable pricing range to promote understanding of GPSDs requirements and the

Vendor’s proposal, to clarify requirements, and adjust services to be performed, and in prices. Best and final offers may, at the District's discretion, be requested.

Changes to proposals, if permitted by the GPSD, will be requested by the GPSD in writing from vendors.

B. Scope Changes: Any and all scope changes related to the contract arising from this

RFP will be completed at the same rates as proposed by the vendor in its response to the RFP.

The vendor shall include a plan that specifically identifies the name of the online platform that will be used to administer the assessment. The online platform must be able to accommodate IPS existing infrastructure and be the same for all assessments. The GPSD must approve the online delivery system to be used for the online testing, including but not limited to a review of tests of the system (including unit/regression tests if requested), security of the system, stress tests of the system, validation procedures for students to participate in the online administration, the school district level management of the system, and the procedures in place by the vendor to monitor each administration.

The vendor should assume that GPSDs technology architecture and computing hardware will not be replaced. The online testing system design must be flexible so that the software modifications, database changes, and reporting requirements can be made efficiently and cost-effectively. The online testing system must be scalable to accommodate, over time, the testing of additional students.

The vendor will comply with the following technical specifications:

• Open, flexible browser-based platform certified by IMS Global Learning Tools

Interoperability (LTI)

• Data export to build customizable reports o Single sign-on integration with Clever, Google, and Microsoft

• User Synchronization Service certified by IMS Global One Roster vl.1 standard that can automatically provision users, classes, and group enrollment information, with no additional fee associated with rostering

The goal is to leverage existing credentials through LDAP or other methods to limit authentication frustration. The vendor must describe or attach any SSO options available for students and/or staff members if any are available. If no SSO options are currently available, please describe or attach the recommended methodology for user account creation including the creation and management of user accounts and passwords. All adult staff have a G-Suit account (formerly Google Apps for Education) and Microsoft Office 365 accounts. The

District currently uses Clever but may be amenable to offering options. The District has no desire to manually create and manage user accounts or user passwords.

Access to Data Collection System: The successful vendor shall provide GPSD and selected technical advisors with a secure, password-protected web-based system to analyze the assessment processes and the resultant data. GPSD shall have access to and oversight of all aspects of online performance during the data collection windows and access to captured data after the data collection windows close. The Vendor shall indicate how it proposes to do this.

➢ The data file should be transmitted to GPSD. The exact content, naming conventions, definitions of data elements, and file type shall be clearly documented and agreed upon by the vendor and GPSD at least two (2) months before test administration. At a minimum, the district file must include all elements that have been used in reporting, as well as a CSV

(MS-DOS) format version of the district file must &so be provided to GPSD on the secure

FTP site.

6.0 Processing and Storing of Materials

➢ Equating and Scaling. The successful vendor shall work with GPSD to implement a scaling procedure that will result in scaled scores and an equating procedure that will ensure that the scores are comparable across years and different test forms.

➢ The selected vendor shall describe their plan for accomplishing all tasks related to scoring of MC items, writing prompts, merging of student score data for selected response and open response items, resolution of data errors, and quality control.

➢ Scoring of Constructed Response Items. Vendors are to propose a scoring approach for open-ended items and performance tasks that best suit the needs of GPSD. The selected vendor must provide accurate and reliable scores in a timely manner. The vendor shall describe how the following requirements will be met for scoring open-ended items:

• Development and provision of training procedures for scorers of open-ended items and constructed responses to mirror state testing. A description of the training process and protocol and procedures to qualify scorers should be included. Protocols used to ensure consistency in the work of scorers must be included in proposals.

• Providing summary reports from the open-ended scoring sessions to GPSD.

• The contents of such reports will be identified jointly by the vendor and GPSD.

BIDDER SHALL COMPLETE BY CHECKING THE FOLLOWING

WHERE APPLICABLE

Addendum #1

RFP #991-1

Number of Students ELA, Mathematics, and Science Assessments by

Grade

Table A

GRADE STUDENT

COUNT

UNIT

COST

EXTENDED

COST

Grade 2 310

Grade 3 290

Grade 4 280

Grade 5 260

Grade 6 260

Grade 7 260

Grade 8 265

Grade 9 270

Grade 10 215

Grade 11 260

TOTAL 2,670

The following table provides information on the expected number of test takers each year for Algebra 1, English 11, US History, and Biology I.

Table B

SUBJECT STUDENT

COUNT

UNIT

COST

EXTENDED

COST

Algebra I 180

English 11 180

US History 180

Biology 220

TOTAL 760

The following table provides information on the expected number of test takers each year for the Cost Option ACT Test Prep assessment.

Table C

SUBJECT STUDENT

COUNT

UNIT EXTENDED

COST

Grade 10 215

Grade 11 260

TOTAL 475 $

GREENVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

412 SOUTH MAIN STREET-ZIP

38701 POSTOFFICE BOX 1619-

ZIP 38702 GREENVILLE,

MISSISSIPPI

PHONE: 662-334-7000 FAX: ( 662)334-7021

I, we, propose to furnish and deliver the items as used in the proposed form according to your specifications and quantities at the indicated price with no deviations. These prices are guaranteed from

Both unit price and total price have been submitted with the understanding that we will be responsible for making complete delivery accordingly. We further agree not to request permission to withdraw our quotation after bids have been publicly opened.

This proposal consists of Proposal Form, Conditions, and Specifications. We understand each form is to be signed as required and unless this has been done, our bids may be considered incomplete and rejected therefore.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP OPENING SCHEDULE

RFP NUMBER: ___________________

RFP TITLE: ___________________

RFP OPENING DATE: ___________________

RFP OPENING TIME: ____________________ (Local Prevailing Time)

VENDOR NAME: ________________________________________________

CONTACT PERSON: ___________________________________________

SIGNATURE: ___________________________________________

VENDOR TELEPHONE NO: ___________________________________________

VENDOR FAX NO: ___________________________________________

PROPOSED PRICE: ___________________________________________

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

The Board of Trustees of the Greenville Public School District (hereinafter referred to as “GPSD”) is soliciting sealed, written formal bid proposals from qualified vendors (hereinafter referred to as “Vendor”) for the purchase of furniture, equipment, supplies, materials, labor or services as outlined in the specifications. Sealed bids shall be received by GPSD, in the Office of the Business Manager of the Greenville Public School District, 412 South Main Street, P. O. Box 1619, Greenville, MS 38702-1619, until the time specified on the Formal Bid Proposal sheet (front page of the formal bid document), at which time all bids shall be publicly opened and read aloud.

Neither dating of the bid form nor placing the bid in the mail by this date shall meet legal requirements; the formal bid document must be received in the Office of the Business Manager of the Greenville Public School District on or before the date and time specified.

GPSD reserves the right to reject any and all bids received and to waive any and all informalities.

Vendors are encouraged to very carefully read all sections of this bid document prior to submitting a bid proposal.

It is the basic philosophy of GPSD to extend to all responsible Vendors equal consideration and the assurance of unbiased judgment in determining whether their product or service meets the specifications and the educational needs of the school district. GPSD shall fairly evaluate all formal bid proposals submitted and base all decisions on the "lowest and best" bid concept purchasing only those products and/or services which meet the specifications as written. All decisions rendered shall strive to achieve the greatest value from every tax dollar expended. GPSD shall make no discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, creed, religion, or national origin, in either the product evaluation process or in transacting business with Vendors or Vendor representatives.

GPSD reserves the right to award the order, if awarded, within forty-five (45) calendar days from the date of the bid opening, unless otherwise indicated in the written specifications which follow.

Consequently, the Vendor agrees not to request permission to withdraw the quotation after bids have been publicly opened for this period of time.

The individual signing this Formal Bid Proposal shall be a responsible agent of the company and shall be authorized to sign on behalf of the company.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS AND

CONDITIONS

Preparation of Bid Proposal

Vendors shall adhere to all of the General Instructions and Conditions as contained in this section of the bid as well as all other sections of these bid specifications; failure to do so may result in the rejection of any and/or all portions of the bid.

The entire bid proposal, including Bid Proposal Form, General Instructions and Conditions, Detailed Specifications, and any other information contained herein must be returned to GPSD.

Any items the Vendor does not wish to bid on should be marked as "No Bid."

All bid proposals must be completed in ink or typewritten; all bids must be manually signed. No erasures shall be permitted; mistakes may be crossed out and corrections inserted adjacent. All corrections (including "white-out") must be initialed in ink by the person signing the bid proposal.

The proposal must be signed with the firm or corporate name and by a responsible agent of the firm.

Vendors should respond by using the proposal form and all other sections of this bid document without alterations, where information is requested. For every item proposed, the "Unit Price", "Total Price" (where requested), and "Quoting On" lines must be completed. All information concerning warranties, delivery dates, etc., where requested must be completed by the Vendor; all

"Checklists" must be completed and submitted with the bid, if required in the specifications.

Prices must be stated in units specified herein; i.e. in the units of measure indicated (per each, dozen, case, etc.). GPSD reserves the right to contact Vendors for information concerning the units of measure for which prices are given. Each bid proposal shall indicate the contact person for the

Vendor.

Submission of Bid Proposals

Bids, once completed should be should either electronically submitted or placed in an opaque envelope with the Vendor name, bid number, and statement "Bid on _______ " as they appear on the Bid Proposal Form, written on the envelope. A responsible agent of the Vendor must sign the attached Formal Bid Proposal, in order for the bid to be valid and acceptable. A bid that is not signed is not binding on the part of the Vendor and therefore does not constitute an informality which may be waived by GPSD.

Modification and Withdrawal of Bids and Late

Bids

Bid proposals should be verified before submission for accuracy and correctness, since GPSD shall not be responsible for any errors for which the Vendor is responsible. Bids may be modified or withdrawn by written notice or in person by the Vendor if received in the Office of the Business

Manager prior to the time set for opening as given in the Formal Bid Proposal. No oral telephone withdrawals shall be accepted. Any and all bids received after the bid opening date and time indicated on the Formal Bid Proposal shall be refused and marked "Late Bid" and returned to the

Vendor, unopened. No formal bid proposals may be "faxed."

Acceptance and Award of Bid Proposals

The Vendor's bid proposal once submitted and accepted as a valid bid by GPSD, shall be deemed by both parties to constitute a legal and binding offer on the part of the Vendor to sell to GPSD as per the terms of the bid specifications, all products and/or services contained therein. Bid proposals are subject to acceptance by GPSD at any time within forty-five (45) calendar days following the bid opening date. Consequently, all price quotations shall be effective for a minimum of forty-five

(45) calendar days and for a maximum period as indicated on the Formal Bid Proposal. GPSD reserves the right to reject any bid containing price quotations for a period of time less than that indicated on the Formal Bid Proposal.

Award of contract shall be made to the responsible Vendor whose bid, conforming to specifications, is deemed to be the lowest and best to GPSD, price and all other factors considered.

The Vendor acknowledges the right of GPSD to reject the bid, in part or in total, if the Vendor fails to submit the data required in the specifications, or if the bid is in any way incomplete or irregular.

Under no circumstances may a Vendor deliver, install or perform any service as specified in these specifications without written authorization from GPSD (i.e. a duly authorized and issued purchase order or signed contract). All formal bid proposals shall be approved by the Board of Trustees prior to the award of the bid.

The Vendor shall be issued a duly authorized purchase order, which shall be deemed acceptance of the bid proposal offer made by the Vendor, for any items and/or services approved by the Board of

Trustees and awarded as a result of this bid. However, if in the opinion of GPSD, a contract document is required to authorize the award of the bid, Vendor agrees to sign all such contract documents as may be required in the written specifications. NOTE: If Vendor policy requires that

GPSD sign vendor contract documents, a sample of all such documents shall be included with the bid proposal and shall become a part of the Vendor's bid proposal. Any such sample shall be clearly marked "Sample." GPSD reserves the right to modify any provisions of any Vendor contract documents.

Bid Preference

In accordance with Section 31-7-47 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, Annotated, any Vendor domiciled in a state having laws granting preference to local contractors is required to include as part of the bid proposal, any bid preference-law which would be applied to a Mississippi company bidding in the domicile of the Vendor. Resident contractors actually domiciled in Mississippi, be they corporate individuals or partnerships, shall be granted preference over nonresidents in awarding of contracts in the same manner and to the same extent as provided by the laws of the state or domicile of the nonresident. GPSD reserves the right to reject the bid or terminate any contractual obligations to the Vendor for the failure of the Vendor to include bid preference information as a part of the bid proposal. In the event of such rejection of the bid or termination of contractual obligations, the Vendor shall be liable for any costs associated with the failure to notify GPSD of any bid preference.

No Response to Bid Proposals

Any Vendor not responding in writing to bid proposals shall be removed from the list of bid vendors. Any Vendor wishing to remain on the list of bid vendors but who does not wish to bid on the current bid proposal should return only the Formal Bid Proposal (first page of the bid information) marked "NO BID - Please Leave Name on List of Bid Vendors."

Rejection of Bid Proposals

GPSD reserves the exclusive right to reject the bid of any Vendor in part or total for reasons deemed appropriate, such as a documented past experience(s) in which the Vendor failed to perform according to stated specifications once awarded the bid, improper financial responsibility of the Vendor, instances in which Vendor offered references were checked with resulting negative connotations, etc. GPSD reserves the right to accept the "lowest and best" bid; which in their judgment, assures GPSD the product(s) or service(s) having the best performance and the highest level of function, quality, and value. GPSD reserves the right to reject any item on which the Vendor does not indicate on the "Quoting On" line the item on which a quotation is submitted, exactly what is being offered, due to the fact that what is being offered may not be clearly identified and comparable to what is specified.

Approved Equal

It is the intent of this document to clearly define "open" and competitive product or service bid specifications. All items on this bid are to be as specified or GPSD approved equals-, GPSD shall reserve the exclusive right to determine products and/or services which are approved as equal to those specified herein. Reference in these specifications to and the use of the name and model number of any article, product, material, or item of furniture or equipment by proprietary name, manufacturer, or manufacturer's model or catalog number ln describing an item, is intended to establish a standard of type, quality and design, and is therefore not intended to limit competition. Vendors may submit bid proposals for products that are of a different manufacturer and model number from that which is specified, provided the herein procedure is adhered to exactly. - However, Vendors are encouraged to offer products of those manufacturers and model numbers specified, if at all possible.

For any item(s) which is proposed, which is other than as specified (brand name and number), it is the responsibility of the Vendor to submit with the bid proposal a sample of the proposed item. In the event submission of a sample is not possible, a manufacturer's published description, catalog, or other descriptive document, explaining in detail exactly what is being proposed shall be included. Likewise, any sample or support literature for any item(s) proposed which is other than as specified (manufacturer and model number), shall be clearly labeled as to the Vendor's Name, i.e. Item Number as it appears in the specifications and the Item Name. It shall be the responsibility of the Vendor to ensure that a detailed technical description is provided for all items which shall allow for an accurate comparison to the item specified. All such support documentation shall be submitted with the bid proposal and shall be organized in one of the following manners:

(a) Bound Volume of Pages - for each item, a picture and detailed product specifications (for the exact manufacturer and model number proposed) shall be posted on an 8 1/2" x 11 " sheet of paper bound in a cover with the Vendor's Name on the outside of the cover. The item number and item name as fisted in the Detailed

Specifications shall be indicated at the top of each page. The supporting literature shall be organized in a bound volume in order by item number. Preferably, only one item shall be placed on each page.

(b) Published Catalog— it shall be permissible to submit with the bid, a general or manufacturer's product catalog clearly indicating the detailed product information concerning the proposed product; however, if this method is utilized, it shall be the responsibility of the Vendor to place beside the product manufacturer and model number on the "Quoting On" line the correct page number and Vendor item number (if applicable) in the catalog corresponding to the item being proposed. GPSD shall not research catalog table of contents or indexes attempting to locate items that are offered on this bid.

In addition, it shall be the responsibility of the Vendor to clearly define any deviations that exist from specifications, if any, between what is proposed and what is specified, for each item offered, which is other than as specified. All such information relating to product deviations may be placed in the bid proposal either on the page below the item specification or on a separate sheet. If a separate sheet is utilized, the page shall be entitled "Proposed Product Deviations" and each item shall be clearly labeled as to item number and name as they appear in the Detailed Specifications.

Failure to provide such documenting evidence to support any such item offered and/or any significant product deviations may result in the rejection of and/or all of the items bid.

Alternate Items

Vendors are discouraged from offering alternate items for bid in lieu of specifications. "Alternate Items" shall be defined for purposes of this bid to be those products that do not differ from what is specified simply because of a manufacturer and model number which is other than as specified, but rather those products which generally are non-characteristic of the product as specified.

Consequently, bid proposals for "Alternate Items" as defined herein shall not be given consideration.

Vendor Preference

Where applicable, for the products and/or services to be provided in the specifications, preference shall be granted to those Vendors which offer local sales and services, parts inventories, user t raining orientation, etc.

In the case of "tie bids", all factors being equal, the local Vendor shall be recommended to the Board of

Trustees for approval.

Taxes

Vendor pricing shall not include any taxes (unless speeded), since GPSD is tax-exempt. Federal

Excise Tax Exemption evidence shall be executed where required upon request by the Vendor.

Grouping of Items

No grouping of items shall be allowed unless otherwise defined in the Detailed Specifications. Items are to be offered for bid on an "individual" basis and shall be awarded accordingly. However, certain circumstances may arise in which it is to the advantage of GPSD to group items offered for bid. All items in each such grouping shall be purchased from one Vendor. In order to be eligible for consideration for the award of the bid for any group of items, a price quotation must be offered for all items in the grouping; the award of the bid shall be made following careful analysis of the

"lowest and best" bid offered for the entire group of…