23MACISCS3 - Attachment A - Final.docx

75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-4906 Main Telephone: (781) 338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370

Attachment A

Alternate ID: 23MACISCS3 COMMBUYS Document #: BD-23-1026-DOE02-DOE01-77927

Background and Overview:

The Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) was initiated by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in response to The Education Reform Act (the Act) of 1993. As a result of the Act, beginning in 1998, all new teachers seeking Pre-Kindergarten to grade 12 academic licenses were required to pass at least two tests to become certified to teach in Massachusetts public schools: communication and literacy skills as well as tests of subject matter knowledge.

The purpose of the MTELs is to ensure that Massachusetts educators can communicate effectively with students, parents/guardians, and other educators and that they are knowledgeable in the subject matter of the license sought. The MTEL tests are designed to measure candidates' ability to read with comprehension and write with clarity as well as to measure the breadth and depth of candidates' content knowledge in specific subject fields.

The MTELs were established to ensure a standard of knowledge and communication skills associated with the profession and set up a mechanism whereby qualified individuals could demonstrate knowledge and enter the workforce prior to engaging in a full-length preparation/training program (e.g., the provisional license). The MTEL is the assessment used to ensure educator candidates have the communication skills and content knowledge to earn licensure in Massachusetts.

In an effort to better support candidates in passing the MTEL, DESE includes a list of “Test Preparation Courses” on our website. DESE maintains this list of approved MTEL preparation providers in order to guide individuals to high quality preparation for the MTELs. Organizations selected to be part of this Departmental Master Agreement (MA) provide comprehensive support to individuals seeking to take and pass the MTELs in pursuit of the provisional or initial license. DESE will list preparation courses that have been vetted by DESE according to this MA as preferred MTEL preparation vendors in order to ensure courses listed meet the qualifications described below, in an effort to better support candidates in passing the MTEL.

Scope of Services:

DESE is seeking to create a Departmental Master Agreement (MA) of bidders who can effectively support candidates in passing the MTEL. As a part of this BID you will be awarded a contract with DESE, be placed on a prequalified list and have access to opportunities available only to organizations selected. DESE may also purchase vouchers, for test preparation, to distribute to test-takers. In addition, DESE will widely share and promote the preparation your organization provides on the DESE website and in public settings like conferences and meetings with stakeholders.

We are looking for organizations who can demonstrate that their MTEL preparation has directly resulted in individual success on the MTEL, including evidence of the following (this is not meant to be an exhaustive list):

· Pass rate results, disaggregated by:

· MTEL

· Race/Ethnicity

· # of retakes

· Survey data from completers of the preparation

· Focus group information/data from completers of the preparation The preparation provided to individual candidates should:

· Meet the needs of candidates with varying learning styles

· Include lessons and tasks that advance learning with clear purpose

· Have informal and formal assessments that measure learning and allow for targeting/shifting to support individual candidates

· Include guidance and resources designed specifically to build subject matter knowledge

· Be coherent and sequenced to build content knowledge systematically

· Align and clearly crosswalk the corresponding MTEL objectives

In addition, all selected organizations will submit an annual report on the results of their preparation, as well as proposed shifts based on the results.

Budget:

Note: DESE does not cover the costs associated with MTEL preparation and budgetary needs must be covered by course fees or other revenue.

DESE reserves the right to purchase vouchers, from awarded vendors, to distribute to test takers, if applicable.

If DESE is purchasing vouchers, the purchase may be secured through the posting of a Request for Quote (RFQ) on COMMBUYS. RFQ awarded vendors will enter into a work order agreement with DESE, to provide the vouchers.

Districts seeking to procure services will do so under a separate contract agreement, following applicable procurement law. DESE will not be held responsible for these contract agreements, payments or non-compliance.

Bidders must provide an all-inclusive budget for associated MTEL preparation costs with your response for each fiscal year: FY23, (Approval – June 30, 2023) FY23, (July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024) FY24, (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) FY25, (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) and FY26 (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027).

Required Qualifications:

The bidder must have:

· Demonstrated success in effectively preparing educator candidates for passing the MTEL

· The ability to make the preparation courses available to educators statewide.

Preferred Qualifications:

The bidder is preferred to have:

· Demonstrated success in effectively supporting candidates of color to pass the MTEL

· Demonstrates evidence that they have examined and are working to improve their practices and supports (internal and/or external) from a racial equity lens.

· Cost-effective MTEL preparation such that the preparation is affordable for people with a variety of income levels.

· Ability to provide test preparation course vouchers to candidates should the Department elects to purchase them.

Rolling Enrollment:

· This is rolling enrollment Departmental Master Agreement

· BIDS will be considered on a rolling basis from the date of posting until December 30, 2026 -5:00 PM ET

Submission Requirements:

Bidders must submit a response with the following sections:

Section 1: A description of their organization (max 1 page) Section 2: A list of MTELs for which their organization provides preparation Section 3: One of DESE’s foremost goals is to address inequities in education that exist in the Commonwealth. Describe, in a 1-page narrative, your organization’s commitment to and actions taken to ensure equity (this should include efforts within your own organization to support equity and efforts when providing services to clients, as applicable). In addition, please share your organization’s current challenges with and ongoing efforts to ensure your organization is working towards building the mindsets, practices, and skills to support this initiative.

Section 3: A summary of course/preparation materials for each MTEL for which their organization provides preparation. This summary must include:

· Delivery/format, e.g. face-to-face, online, etc.

· Length, e.g. one semester, one six-hour session, etc.

· How long candidates have access to the course/preparation materials post completion of the course.

· Number of years your organization has provided the course/preparation and the number of individuals that have participated in the course/preparation

· Cost for the course/preparation (max 1page)

· A crosswalk of the MTEL objectives and corresponding content of the course/preparation (max 2 pages for each MTEL)

· Representation of course syllabi/preparation materials for each MTEL. (max 4 pages for each MTEL and should include materials that are representative of the full set of materials)

· The curriculum vitae for any individual who teaches the course/preparation (max 2 pages per individual) Section 4: Examples of scholarships and/or financial support provided to candidates participating in the MTEL preparation (max 1 page) Section 5: Eligibility requirements to participate in the MTEL preparation (max 1 page) Section 6: Evidence of impact of their MTEL preparation, including at least one of the following (max 4 pages):

· Pass rate results (this evidence of impact will be prioritized in the scoring of proposals), disaggregated by:

· MTEL

· Race/Ethnicity

· # of retakes

· Aggregate survey data from completers of the preparation

· Summary of focus group information/data from completers of the preparation

· Other evidence to demonstrate effectiveness of preparation Section 7: Budget, as noted above in the Budget section, for each fiscal year.

IMPORTANT NOTE: When uploading your response on COMMBUYS please be sure to enter a $0 dollar amount and select the “no charge” option. This will ensure accuracy when the department awards a bid. If this is not selected properly the department will not be able to access the bid response file.

Responses not posted to COMMBUYS will not be considered for evaluation. Do not Email and/or mail responses to the department.

In order to respond to this bid, please register on the COMMBUYS website. If you need assistance with registering please contact the COMMBUYS helpdesk at: COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or (888) 627-8283 or (617) 720-3197.

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