23MACISGW2 Attachment A 4 UPDATED - Final.docx

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CURATE: Evidence of Curricular Materials’ Alignment and Quality

Alternate ID #: 23MACISGW2 COMMBUYS Bid #: BD-23-1026-DOE02-DOE01-77790

(Updated with Amendment 4 document information) Background:

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) seeks to provide schools and districts with more guidance in the identification and selection of high-quality core curricular materials1 aligned to Massachusetts learning standards. To that end, DESE launched the CUrriculum RAtings by TEachers (CURATE) Project in 2018, convening panels of Massachusetts teachers twice a year to review and synthesize evidence of specific comprehensive core curriculum products’ quality and alignment to standards.

Panel reviews from CURATE result in a series of brief, user-friendly reports, hereafter referred to as “CURATE Reports,” each pertaining to a specific product (hereafter “curriculum”) for a given grade span (e.g., 6-8). CURATE Reports from School Year (SY) 2018-2019 to SY23-24 designated products with an “Overall” Rating of either Meets, Partially Meets, or Not Meet Expectations for teaching and learning in Massachusetts. For that time period (SY18--SY23), DESE incentivized the use of curricula that Meet Expectations and created efficiencies for both district users and vendors of those curricula by designating programs with an “Overall” Rating of Meets Expectations as qualifying for a Master Agreement (MA, formerly Master Service Agreement (MSA)). Massachusetts districts were able to enter into a contract with those vendors who prequalified under a Master Agreement (MA) in a streamlined procurement process.

However, regular review of the CURATE project occurs to ensure coherence and alignment with updated DESE guidance and resources, such as the DESE Educational Vision, Supporting Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Practices, and Mass Literacy, among others, and to strengthen CURATE reviews based on reviewer feedback. This review process in SY23-24 has resulted in adjustments to the CURATE Rubric, and resultant, important structural changes to the CURATE Project outlined throughout the rest of this RFR.

Updates to the CURATE Rubrics are noted below and publicized on the CURATE Resources website:

· August 2021, to integrate inclusive and culturally responsive practice more intentionally throughout the rubric indicator language in all subjects.

· August 2021, the K-12 ELA rubric was separated into the ELA K-5 and ELA 6-12 CURATE rubric. This was due to Foundational Skills being moved to the Criterion level from the Indicator level as a separate component within the “Standards Alignment” Domain of the K-5 rubric, to ensure a more comprehensive review of all components of foundational skills. Reports published after August 2021 will contain an evaluation for all components of foundational skills instruction at the criterion level.

· August 2022, to update the "Notes and Tips" sections of rubrics to clarify and support reviewers’ understanding of the indicator language. No substantive changes in indicator language were made.

· August 2023, to update the "Notes and Tips" and "Resources" sections of the rubrics to strengthen reviewers’ consideration of supports for English learners in applicable indicators throughout the rubric. No changes were made in the indicator or criterion level language. Publishers may reference the DESE Blueprint for English Learner Success to learn more about DESE’s expectations for supporting the success of English learners.

These updates to the CURATE Rubrics, along with departmental learnings about culturally and linguistically sustaining practices and the DESE Educational Vision, have necessitated structural changes to the CURATE Project as well.

These Structural Changes include:

1. On August 1, 2024, DESE will initiate an Archiving Process of CURATE reports, affecting both the reports of past programs and instituted hereafter for reports of all programs reviewed in CURATE. Importantly, all CURATE reports will still exist on the DESE website, but under a separate Archived Reports webpage instead of on the content-specific CURATE default webpages.

The CURATE reports of past programs will be archived based upon:

a. the version of CURATE rubrics with which they were reviewed, allowing DESE to distinguish reports reviewed with outdated rubrics from those reviewed with the current ones.

i. This means that ELA K-5 programs, which underwent the most substantial of rubric changes in August 2021 with the addition of a fully fleshed out Criterion 2 addressing all components of Foundational Skills, would be the first content area and grade band experiencing Archiving.

ii. Further programs in other content areas and grade bands reviewed with prior versions of CURATE rubrics (e.g., before CURATE Rubric updates in August 2021) will then be Archived according to DESE schedules and priorities.

b. and the existence of newer programs. This would allow DESE to cycle older reports from the main page when a newer CURATE report has been published. The review and publication of a report of a new edition of a program would automatically move the old report to an “Archived” page.

c. To this end, DESE encourages the submission of the most recent editions of programs for CURATE review. DESE plans to prioritize those programs affected by the Archiving Process, especially in ELA K-5, to which this would apply first.

CURATE reports of programs reviewed hereafter will be moved to the Archived Page five years after month of publication. This change would serve the following purposes:

· More effectively signal quality of most current materials reviewed;

· Make the CURATE landing page clearer and more usable, and

· Support messaging that “high-quality” status does not live into perpetuity; districts are encouraged to engage in regular curriculum review cycles, e.g., every 5-10 years.

DESE also lists on our website the name of any curriculum for which we receive a response to this BID but which does not qualify for our review process (see “required qualifications” below).

2. Furthermore, beginning in FY25, the CURATE Project:

a. no longer intends to review various versions of Open Educational Resources (OER) from multiple publishers. Whenever possible, CURATE will prioritize review and evaluation of the base program from the original publisher, and direct districts to review additional derivatives from various publishers independent of the CURATE Project. For example, CURATE sought to review Odell Education High School Literacy Program (2020) in its original form by Odell Education; further variations from other publishers will be mentioned in the CURATE report but left to the district’s individual review and discretion of best fit for their local context.

b. Will expand the “Impact on Student Learning” Criterion in response to departmental learnings about the status of research on the impact of specific curricular materials on student learning. The “Impact on Student Learning” Criterion will now define the following ratings starting in SY24-25:

c. The “Foundational Skills” Criterion that was added to the ELA K-5 CURATE Rubric in August 2021 will now include a “Not Applicable (N/A)” Rating for programs that explicitly document and attest to the fact that they DO NOT have a foundational skills component. These programs will be asked to attest to the gap in their CURATE submission and will receive the “N/A” Rating rather than a “Does Not Meet Expectations.”

Through the efforts of CURATE, DESE has provided 60+ transparent, publicly available reviews of core curricular materials in Mathematics, English Language Arts (ELA), Science, and Digital Literacy and Computer Science (DLCS) for families, teachers, and districts to consult. More information about the CURATE project, including a description of the review process and the rubrics that guide panel deliberations, is available here.

Lastly, to incentivize the use of high-quality instructional materials and to create efficiencies for both district users and vendors of those curricula, Massachusetts districts will be able to enter into a contract with vendors who are prequalified under a Master Agreement (MA), thereby streamlining the procurement process for districts that choose to use those curricula.

This document seeks to delineate the new pathway for qualification for the Master Agreement (MA), as described below and updated in SY24-25.

· Beginning with programs reviewed in Fall 2024, CURATE will no longer provide “Overall” Ratings of Meets Expectations, Partially Meets Expectations, or Does Not Meet Expectations at the Domain nor Overall Level. The removal of this summative rating is in response to departmental learnings about the oversimplification of usage and misunderstandings from district users. CURATE Reports are not intended to be a standalone determinant of curricular materials but are only one component of a robust and transparent process to investigate and select high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) for a district’s localized context. In an effort to reduce this misuse, CURATE will no longer be providing summative “Overall” ratings at the Domain nor Overall Level.

· Ratings of Meets Expectations, Partially Meets Expectations, or Does Not Meet Expectations (and N/A for Foundational Skills in ELA K-5 programs specified in 2c above) will continue to be provided at the Criterion Level. Criteria differ for each content area and grade-band (see our CURATE Rubrics for more information).

In order to qualify for a Master Agreement (MA) moving forward, programs must receive ratings of:

· Meets Expectations for all Criterion in Standards Alignment Domain where applicable, AND

· Partially Meets OR Meets Expectations for all Criterion in the Classroom Application Domain.

An example of what a newly formatted CURATE Report for a hypothetical ELA K-5 program that would qualify for our MA is below:

Rating or N/A

Responding to this bid is necessary to initiate a CURATE review of your product, which is one of the prerequisites to consideration of the product for the MA.

Scope of Service:

This Departmental Master Agreement (MA) invites curriculum publishers to submit information about their products for our panelists’ consideration.

Please note that proof of meeting minimum thresholds established by DESE-approved and contracted Gateway evaluators, or comparable reviews, is a requirement before entry into a CURATE review. Please also note that the panels will not undertake comprehensive reviews of core curricular materials themselves; instead, they will rely on information publishers provide along with other sources of evidence such as:

· Independent, unbiased evaluations of quality and alignment to college- and career-ready standards, such as those published by DESE-approved Gateway evaluators or other comparable reviews. Please note that proof of screening and meeting a minimum threshold established by DESE-approved and contracted Gateway evaluators OR comparable reviews is a requirement before entry into a CURATE review.

· Data from surveys, interviews, and focus groups conducted with Massachusetts educators familiar with the materials.

This MA also asks for some additional information that will not be considered by panelists but that DESE will make available to the general public along with panelists’ ratings.

If a CURATE review of your product is conducted, we will share an embargoed version of the resulting report with you before publication. At that time, you will have 45 calendar days, if desired, to (a) inform us of any factual errors or omissions in the report and (b) write a publisher’s response of up to 250 words to be included as an addendum to the panel’s findings when they are published. This communication will occur over email.

If your product will be prequalified under this (MA) and you will be required to complete the official state forms and submit additional documents. You will be notified by email of your prequalification with instructions for further information along with the attachment of the documents that make up the contract packet. The documentation to be submitted will include a price list by curriculum and quantity discounts that will apply to all eligible users of the contracts.

This is a Rolling Enrollment Bid. Bidders can submit a response at any time while this posting is open on COMMBUYS through 8/31/2027 – 12:00 PM ET. However, priority deadlines exist.

For SY24-25, CURATE anticipates prioritizing:

· K-12 ELA/Literacy,

· K–12 Mathematics,

· K-12 Science and Technology/Engineering (STE), and

· 9–12 History and Social Science (HSS).

Additionally, as mentioned in the Background Section (top of p.3, 2c.), CURATE intends to prioritize ELA K-5 programs that have been archived per project and website changes. These programs would be eligible for a re-review with our updated CURATE ELA K-5 rubric (August 2021), which now contains a fully fleshed out Criterion 2 that evaluates for all components of foundational skills instruction.

Although publishers can submit to this rolling submission bid anytime, the CURATE Project appreciates and prioritizes submissions sent according to the following timeline:

Fall 2024

Spring 2025

Future review panels will consider responses submitted subsequent to these dates, priority content areas, and grade bands as determined by DESE, and updated on our website, under “CURATE: Our Process.” This BID does not commit DESE to approve a contract, pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a bidder’s response to this BID, or to procure or contract for services.

Budget:

Under this Departmental Master Agreement, Massachusetts districts will be able to acquire materials from prequalified vendors under a separate contract at their cost at the rates specified in the agreement. The Department will have no fiscal responsibility for the acquisition or payment of these district materials.

Required Qualifications:

· Product is single core curriculum2 for one of the following:

· English language arts and literacy (ELA);

· mathematics;

· digital literacy and computer science (DLCS);

· history and social science (HSS);

· science and technology/engineering (STE);

· and/or other content areas designated a priority by DESE.

· Product has been screened by a DESE-approved and contracted preliminary Gateway evaluator 3 or a comparable review, and has been determined to meet expectations for alignment to college- and career-ready standards.

Responses related to materials that do not meet required qualifications will not be reviewed. For more information on the CURATE process, as well as our rolling list of accepted, content specific, Gateway evaluators, please see our CURATE website here.

Preferred Qualifications:

· Materials align well to the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks (see Prompt #2 below)

· Materials support teachers and students in everyday classroom implementation (see Prompt #3 below) Preferred qualifications are aspects of submitted materials that panels will consider in their review.

Submission Requirements:

Please respond to the following prompts, with a separate response for each prompt. If you don’t have a response to a prompt, indicate that you are choosing not to respond to it.

Except for the response to prompt 9, each response must be no more than one page single spaced, Times New Roman font preferred; responses that exceed the one-page limit will not be reviewed. Responses may include hyperlinks to supplemental information but should also be comprehensive and comprehensible on their own. For example, a one-page response may explain how the curriculum ensures fair and diverse representation of people and perspectives, then link to sample unit plans that back up its claims.

Responses to prompts 2, 3, and 4 will be reviewed by educator panels and factor into their ratings of curricula; responses to prompts 4, 5, and 6 will be made available publicly as supplements to DESE’s CURATE report on the product; and responses to prompts 7 and 8 will inform DESE’s data collection efforts during the review.

1. Provide specific evidence that your curriculum meets both minimum qualifications above. In most cases, this will mean providing a link to a completed review by a DESE-approved and contracted Gateway Evaluator, and that the completed review concerns the same version or edition of the product that you would like CURATE panelists to review. Please also note that we will use evidence from the Gateway evaluation, or comparable evaluation, to inform the CURATE evaluation—along with any “publisher’s response” to that review available. If there is anything you would like CURATE panelists to know about your curriculum that you did not say in a “publisher’s response” posted publicly, please include that information in your response to prompt 1 here.

2. Provide specific evidence that your curriculum aligns well to the content and cognitive demands of the relevant Massachusetts learning standards for the appropriate grade level(s) or course(s). If your curriculum does not contain a component for instruction of foundational skills in ELA K-5, please state this explicitly here. Additionally, explain how your materials align to the language standards set forth in the WIDA 2020 English Language Development Standards and how your materials guide teachers in connecting the language standards to the content of the lesson. If your materials have received a designation for the WIDA Prime Seal, please indicate so. For an overview of what makes the Massachusetts standards unique, please see this quick reference guide. Please focus on Massachusetts-specific aspects of the standards in this response; we will rely on the Gateway review, or comparable review, to assess alignment to college-and-career-ready standards more generally. If your curriculum was designed for the Next-Generation Science Standards for Grades 6-8, you may choose to submit the worksheet in Appendix A in addition to or in lieu of a narrative response to this prompt.

3. Provide specific evidence that your curriculum supports classroom application by being accessible and usable for educators and supportive and challenging for all students, including those learning English, those with various disabilities and/or gifts, and those working below and/or above grade level. If your materials incorporate specific research-based practices to support multilingual learners to create access and promote engagement, or exist in translations of other languages, or contain resources for access for bilingual/dual language programs, please include this information. Evidence submitted in response to this prompt may include findings from independent or independently evaluated (e.g., peer-reviewed) research. If citing research studies, please provide access to the full text of relevant studies rather than just abstracts.

4. Describe how you ensure that students of diverse races, ethnicities, nationalities, socioeconomic classes, family experiences, linguistic backgrounds, abilities, cultures, religions, genders, gender identities, sexual orientations, and other identities see themselves fully reflected and respected in your curriculum. For example, describe any bias or inclusivity review procedures you have in place and provide evidence of their efficacy. Describe also how your curriculum challenges existing narratives about historically marginalized and historically centered or normed cultures, including challenges rooted in systemic oppression. For example, describe any protocols or reviews for cultural responsiveness you have in place and provide evidence of their efficacy.

5. Describe any professional learning opportunities (materials or experiences, publisher-provided or otherwise) available for Massachusetts educators that are designed to support high-quality implementation of your curriculum. If there are specific professional learning opportunities available specifically in regard to the implementation of the materials with multilingual learners, students with disabilities, students operating below or above grade level, and/or students of color, please include this information.

6. Describe what a school or district needs to implement your curriculum successfully, including instructional hours and technological infrastructure. Provide basic information about what products are associated with the curriculum (e.g., what texts a typical purchase includes, what tools are openly available online).

7. Provide a list of Massachusetts districts or schools that have adopted the curriculum in the past seven years and the most up-to-date contact information for references from those districts or schools.

8. Provide the name and email address or telephone number of someone who can be our point of contact in case we have questions about your response. Please indicate whether this person would be willing to respond to further inquiries generated by panel discussions of the materials under review.

9. Please provide sample materials electronically for panels to review. Sample materials should serve to (a) orient panelists to the design features and specialized terminology of the materials, and/or (b) serve as additional evidence to substantiate claims made in response to prompts 2 and 3. Responses to this prompt are not subject to the one-page limit set for responses to each of the other 8 prompts. If possible, please provide materials in a format that will not require each panelist to create individual logins or accounts to view them (e.g., as attachments or accessible using shared/test login credentials).

Please note that by responding to this Master Agreement, you are agreeing to the following terms of service:

Terms of Service

1. I will submit only the information requested in this bid.

2. I understand that reviews of curricular materials are anticipated to be prioritized by content area and grade span as described in the bid during FY2025, and at the discretion of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (“Department”) thereafter. However, the Department reserves the right to shift these priorities as necessary.

3. I will not contact the experts assigned to review evidence on my curricular materials nor attempt to influence their deliberations.

4. I understand that the Department makes all final decisions regarding standards alignment and quality of materials.

5. I understand that the Department will not verify the accuracy or validity of perceptual data gathered from stakeholders and that stakeholders’ reported perceptions do not reflect the opinions or policies of the Department or the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

6. I am an officer of the firm legally authorized to act on behalf of the publisher and properly certify that all information provided in my response to this bid is complete and correct.

7. If I am prequalified under this Departmental Master Agreement, I will have an opportunity to enter into a contract with the Department, as described in this document, for any of my materials that receives a Meets Expectations rating. I understand that in order to enter into that contract I will need to provide the Department with necessary forms and additional information.

8. I understand that under this Master Agreement, Massachusetts districts will be able to acquire materials from prequalified vendors under a separate contract at their cost at the rates specified in the agreement. The Department will have no fiscal responsibility for the acquisition or payment of these district materials.

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

To respond to this bid, please register on the COMMBUYS website. If you need assistance contact the OSD Help Desk at OSDHelpDesk@mass.gov or (8am - 5pm ET Monday – Friday) at 1-888-627-8283 or 617-720-3197.

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