EDU20211262__1_.pdf

ODE SOLICITATION WORKSHEET

EDU INDEX/CONTRACT NUMBER: TBD – Assigned by DAS

AGENCY NAME: Ohio Department of Education (ODE)

PROGRAM OFFICE: Office of Educator Effectiveness

PROGRAM CONTACT: John Soloninka, Associate Director, (614) 483-2665, EMAIL: John.Soloninka@education.ohio.gov

PROCUREMENT CONTACT: Asia Brown, Sourcing Analyst, (614) 914-2362

PROJECT TITLE: Ohio Educator Licensure Testing

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

In accordance with Ohio statute, including ORC 3319.22, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), acting on behalf of the State Board of Education of Ohio (SBOE), requires candidates for educator licensure to successfully complete an examination or examinations, see also OAC 3301-24-05. Additionally, ORC 3319.233 requires that a test based on the principles of scientifically research-based reading instruction that is aligned with the reading competencies adopted by the state board of education under section 3301.077 of the Revised Code be administered to all PreK through grade 9 licensed teachers. Educator licensure testing must address the testing parameters outlined in OAC 3301-26-01. It is the intent of ODE to solicit responses to this Request for Proposals (RFP) in accordance with the statements in the Scope of Work section contained in this document.

http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Teaching/Licensure/Prepare-for-Certificate-License/Educator- Licensure-Examinations

A list of the current educator licenses offered by the state and their current required tests /assessments can be found here:

http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Teaching/Licensure/Prepare-for-Certificate- License/Educator-Licensure-Examinations/Educator-Licensure-Testing- Requirements.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION:

The purpose of this RFP is to select a Contractor (or Contractors) able to satisfy the state's need for educator licensure tests/assessments and associated services. It is the intent of the state to select one or more vendors to provide for the development, administration, and reporting of educator licensure tests/assessments.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE:

The Contractor’s will perform the following:

1. Propose educator licensure test/assessments appropriate for the subject matter and grade level of Ohio educator licenses.

2. Administer test/assessments to educator licensure candidates.

3. Report educator licensure test/assessment results to the candidate, Department, Ohio Department of Higher Education, and Ohio approved educator preparation colleges and universities.

NOTICE OF AWARD SPECIAL

CONDITIONS/REQUIREMENTS:

Each Proposal must be organized in an indexed binder ordered in the same manner as the response items are ordered in this RFP.

Proposals are to be clear and concise. Contractors should, however, take care to meet the RFP’s requirements thoroughly. All Contractors, including current contract holders, if applicable, must provide detailed and complete responses as Proposal evaluations, and subsequent scores, are based solely on the content of the Proposal. No assumptions will be made or values assigned for the competency of the Contractor whether or not the Contractor is a current or previous contract holder.

ODE will not be liable for any costs incurred by an Contractor in responding to this RFP, regardless of whether ODE awards the Contract through this process, decides not to go forward http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Teaching/Licensure/Prepare-for-Certificate-License/Educator-Licensure-Examinations http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Teaching/Licensure/Prepare-for-Certificate-License/Educator-Licensure-Examinations http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Teaching/Licensure/Prepare-for-Certificate-License/Educator-Licensure-Examinations/Educator-Licensure-Testing-Requirements.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Teaching/Licensure/Prepare-for-Certificate-License/Educator-Licensure-Examinations/Educator-Licensure-Testing-Requirements.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US http://education.ohio.gov/getattachment/Topics/Teaching/Licensure/Prepare-for-Certificate-License/Educator-Licensure-Examinations/Educator-Licensure-Testing-Requirements.pdf.aspx?lang=en-US with the Project, cancels this RFP for any reason, or contracts for the Project through some other process or by issuing another RFP.

CONTRACTOR (company)

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT:

The Contractor must have a minimum of five (5) years of experience with educator licensure testing/assessment or the testing/assessment of pre-service educators including the capacity to develop and update tests/assessments on a regular basis (as needed).

The Contractor must document the capacity to offer a statewide educator and pre-service educator testing/assessment program, including but not limited to online testing registration, offering supplemental testing materials, implementing a secure testing/assessment program, validating the scoring process of the tests/assessments, providing testing/assessment results within a timely manner to the test taker and the state (within 2-weeks of completing a test/assessment or 2-weeks after the close of a testing period or testing window).

Each Proposal must include a profile of the Contractor’s capability, capacity, and relevant experience working on a similar statewide educator and pre-service educator testing/assessment program. The profile must also include the Contractor’s legal name; address; telephone number;

e-mail address; home office location; date established; ownership (such as public firm, partnership, or subsidiary); firm leadership (such as corporate officers or partners); number of employees; number of employees engaged in tasks directly related to the Work; and any other background information that will help the State gauge the ability of the Contractor to fulfill the obligations of the Contract. The financial stability of the company should also be described and is considered a necessary component of this portion of the Proposal’s response.

The Contractor shall also provide information on the firm’s background as well as evidence that it has in place the personnel, internal procedures, and any other resources required under the terms of the Contract to ensure successful performance and contract compliance. Contractors must describe current operational capacity of the organization and the Contractor’s ability to absorb the additional workload resulting from this Project.

The Contractor must document previous experience and expertise in providing a minimum of two

(2) previous projects, similar in size and complexity, in the previous five (5) years. These projects must be of similar size, scope and nature. Details of the similarities must be included.

The Contractor must include a minimum of three (3) references for organizations and/or clients for whom the Contractor has successfully provided services on projects that were similar in their nature, size, and scope to the Work. These references must relate to work that was completed within the past five (5) years. When contacted, each reference must be willing to discuss the Contractor’s previous performance on projects that were similar in their nature, size, and scope to the Work.

CANDIDATE (staff) EXPERIENCE

REQUIREMENT:

The Contractor must provide a staffing plan that identifies all key personnel required to complete the Project and their responsibilities on the Project. The state is seeking a staffing plan that matches the proposed Project personnel and qualifications to the activities and tasks that will be completed on the Project. One of the criteria on which the state may base the award of the Contract is the quality of the Contractor’s Work Team. Switching personnel after the award will not be accepted without due consideration. The Contractor must propose a Work Team that collectively meets all the requirements in this RFP. All team members proposed must meet the technical experience for the team member’s position and be named.

In addition, the staffing plan must have the following information:

a. A matrix matching each key team member to the staffing requirements in this RFP.

b. A contingency plan that shows the ability to add more staff if needed to ensure meeting the Project's due date(s).

c. A discussion of the Contractor’s ability to provide qualified replacement personnel.

d. The Contractor must submit a statement and chart that clearly indicate the time commitment of the proposed work team, including the Project Manager, to the Project and any other, non-related work during the term of the Contract. The Contractor must also include a statement indicating to what extent, if any, the Project Manager may be used on other projects during the term of the Contract.

e. The Project Manager will interact directly with the state and will be the official liaison between the state and the Contractor. Demonstrate that this individual has the capacity to understand and communicate all aspects of the Contractor’s testing/assessment program, processes and procedures.

MANDATORY LICENSES

AND/OR CERTIFICATIONS

REQUIRED:

None that the Program Office is aware of.

Note: Mandatory requirements are considered as pass/fail. Mandatory requirements are subjective, and not considered scorable evaluation criteria.

PROJECT AWARD: Award structure will be determined by ODE.

ODE EVALUATORS: Carolyn Everidge-Frey, Yenetta Harper, Thomas McGee, John Soloninka, Curtis Hewitt

ATTACHMENTS: None

ECONOMIC PRICE

ADJUSTMENT:

Will be determined by DAS and Sourcing.

AGENCY BILL TO ADDRESS: All invoice shall be sent to Fiscal.Management@education.ohio.gov.

Bill to Address: Ohio Department of Education - 25 South Front Street, Columbus, OH 43215

UNSPSC CODE: Will be determined by DAS and Sourcing.

APPROXIMATE CONTRACT

START DATE:

July 1, 2021

CONTRACT END DATE: June 30, 2028

RENEWAL TERMS: Will be determined by DAS and Sourcing.

AGENCY SPECIAL CONDITIONS: Please identify, if applicable, any special conditions for the project/RFP.

SCOPE OF WORK:

The development, validation and delivery of specific educator licensure tests/assessment that align with the Ohio Department of Education educator licensure structure (available on ODE website). Test/assessments must be delivered online and include those accommodations for individuals with special needs. Test/assessment results must be made available to the testing candidate, their designated college or university, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Annual reports for all tests/assessments must be submitted to the Ohio Department of Education for public availability. Ohio colleges and universities must also have access to the testing and assessment data of candidates from their respective institutions. Further specific details are included in the deliverables section of this RFP.

The contractor is expected to have completed the initial work of developing and validating all educator licensure tests/ assessments within one year of having been awarded this contract.

The goal is to respond to the requirements of testing of educator licensure candidates as directed in OAC 3301-24-05, ORC 3319.233 and OAC 3301-26-01.

Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3301-24-05 states the requirements for the issuance of educator licenses. One of these requirements includes "…the successful completion of an examination prescribed by the state board of education…" See:

http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/3301-24-05. The educator licensure types in this section include teaching, administrative, and professional pupil service licenses. For a list of educator licenses issued, see the Ohio Department of Education Website (http://education.ohio.gov), and search Educator Licensure Exams.

mailto:Fiscal.Management@education.ohio.gov

Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3301-26-01 outlines the testing or examination components. Additionally, teaching licensure tests are required to include the testing of both pedagogical and content knowledge and skills. Foreign/world language content knowledge and skills tests are required to include the testing of both spoken and written language proficiency in a variety of strategically important languages, including but not limited to Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Japanese and Hebrew.

Ohio Revised Code 3319.233 requires that individuals seeking a teacher license for grades Prekindergarten through grade 9 also successfully complete a test/assessment for reading.

The number of candidates for educator licensure tested each year varies. The number of new educators issued a license by ODE each year that would require a testing component is estimated to be between 4,000 to 6,000 individuals.

DELIVERABLES DUE DATES

1. Contractor shall submit a list of appropriate content area and pedagogical tests/assessments valid for testing/assessing Ohio educator licensure candidates in all licensure areas as offered by the state. Contractor shall clearly list which test(s)/ assessment(s) it proposes to administer for each licensure area listed. A special reading test must also be incorporated into the list of tests/assessments for grade PreK through grade 9 teaching licenses.

At the time of proposal submission

2. Contractor shall provide an alignment or crosswalk of each test/assessment with the corresponding educational standards (e.g., Ohio Standards for the Teaching Profession, Ohio Learning Standards, Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards). The Contractor shall also provide an alignment or crosswalk for those tests/assessments for pedagogy with the Ohio Teacher Evaluation System, and for the test/assessment for school leaders/ administrators with the Ohio Principal Evaluation System.

A plan to complete this requirement must be submitted at the time of the proposal submission. The test/assessment alignments/crosswalks must be completed within one year of the contract award date.

3. Contractor shall make every effort to provide multiple-choice content area tests/assessments; for content area tests/assessments that include constructed response items that are in written, oral or visual format (e.g., English language arts tests, world language tests, ASL test), the Contractor must provide a rationale regarding the inclusion of these items. The educational leadership and all pedagogy tests/assessments shall include both multiple choice and constructed response items.

submitted at the time of the proposal submission. The test/assessment structure must be completed within one year of the contract award date.

4. Contractor shall provide a detailed initial plan for the development of each test/ assessment based on Ohio standards (see #2 above). The plan must include a review of each test/assessment item for content appropriateness and bias. This review must include individuals who are knowledgeable of the specific content area with a majority of the reviewers being Ohio classroom teachers for all teacher licensure tests/assessments; for non-teacher tests/assessments, individuals holding the corresponding or appropriate Ohio educator license must be a majority of the reviewers; faculty from Ohio colleges and universities approved for educator preparation must also be included in each review. The Contractor will make a reasonable effort to ensure that a representation of diverse geographical, racial, ethnic and gender groups from across Ohio participate in the development and review of these tests/assessments. The Contractor shall provide an additional plan that outlines the development process of any new tests or updates to approved tests/assessments needed during the contract period. The Contractor shall provide an additional plan to systematically fully review and update as needed all the licensure tests/assessments on a 5-year or 7-year cycle.

submitted at the time of the proposal submission. The test/assessment reviews must be completed within one year of the contract award date.

5. Contractor shall describe the process for how passing scores (cut scores or qualifying scores) for these tests/assessments will be initially determined, annually reviewed and adjusted (if necessary).

6. Contractor shall provide an Annual Technical Report for all the selected tests/assessments that includes a summary of the annual testing processes and procedures in place. The annual period covered by the report shall be July through June. Aggregated and disaggregated data tables shall be presented in this Report. Each test/assessment shall be reported individually and include the number of tests administrated (disaggregated by first attempt, second attempt, etc.), the self-reported demographic characteristics (gender and ethnicity) of the test/assessment candidates and the institution or preparation program where candidates received their preparation (if provided). A Differential Item Function (DIF) analysis for each test/assessment shall be a section of this Report using gender and ethnicity as the categorical variables. The Contractor shall provide an annual and longitudinal comparison (e.g., 3-years or 5-years) and analysis of each test/assessment when sufficient data are available. This Report shall be posted annually either on the Department or Contractor’s website and be publicly available. The Contractor shall provide a presentation of the Annual Technical Report to the Educator Standards Board of Ohio and the State Board of Education of Ohio each spring (dates to be determined jointly between the Contractor and the Department).

submitted at the time of the proposal submission.

Annual reports must begin after the first full year that tests/assessments are administered.

7. Contractor shall provide evidence that the proposed tests/assessments and test/assessment items will be developed by following a recognized procedure as promulgated by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Council of Measurement in Education (NCME), Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. The Contractor shall provide evidence that the tests/assessments selected are unbiased, free from cultural bias, fair, valid, reliable, and legally defensible for the purpose for which they are being proposed to be used.

Additionally, for those tests/assessments that require reading and scoring by an individual person or persons, the Contractor shall provide evidence that these individual assessors are trained (and updated annually) on rater bias, implicit bias, cultural bias, and all scoring procedures.

submitted at the time of the proposal submission.

A final report or reports that provide this information must be completed within one year of the contract award date.

8. Contractor shall propose a timeline (dates should be by month and year), for the development, approval and launching of the proposed tests/assessments. A Gnatt chart would be an acceptable format of the timeline. Tests/ assessments must be computer delivered* and have a minimum number of not less than 100 and not more than 150 scorable multiple-choice items on each test/assessment. If a test/ assessment includes a constructed written response(s), or other type of response (not multiple choice), then a reasonable justification must be proposed to reduce the number of multiple-choice items on the test/ assessment to less than the minimum number noted above. Individual tests/assessments must be able to be completed by an average prepared test-taker within a two to four-hour testing window of time. The test/ assessment approval process shall involve coordinating with the staff in the Department’s Center for Teaching, Leading and Learning; the state approval process could take up to 3 to 4 months including a review by the Ohio Educator Standards Board, State Board of Education of Ohio Committee for Teaching, Leading and Learning, and Full State Board of Education of Ohio.

Tests/ assessments must be available for all test takers by July 2022.

*Tests/assessments in other formats (not including formats for special accommodations -see number 9 below) will be considered if a justification is provided. For example, tests for world languages may be test/assessments that would be proposed in a different format.

A timeline must be included with the proposal submission.

A plan to complete this test/ assessment structure requirement must be submitted at the time of the proposal submission.

A final report or reports for this requirement verifying the final test/assessment structure must be completed with one year of the contract award date.

9. Contractor shall provide information regarding the testing accommodations (including but not limited to a Braille format, large text format, a reader, additional testing time, etc.) available for test takers with special needs. The Contractor shall describe how accommodation requests would be processed, and if provided what additional costs might be assessed to test-takers for these accommodations.

10. Contractor shall agree to offer these tests/assessments at multiple testing sites throughout Ohio on a continuous basis. The Contractor shall provide a map and identify where in Ohio the tests/assessments will be administered.

Tests/assessments are to be offered during specific dates or testing windows; the Contractor shall provide an example of these annual dates or windows of time for all tests/ assessments and include a process for the rescheduling of tests/assessments (at no cost to the test-taker) in the event of unfavorable conditions (e.g., weather or technical difficulties). The Contractor shall also describe the conditions under which a test-taker would not receive a refund for a scheduled test.

11. Contractor shall describe the Customer Services provided, including but not limited to the procedures for on-line test/assessment registration and payment procedures; note the time period between individual registration and administration of the test/assessment; and note that the testing candidates must receive their score report within two weeks of completing the test/assessment or two weeks after the end of a testing window (calendar dates).

12. Contractor shall describe its role and the subcontractor’s role (if applicable) in the testing/assessing process; describe the training provided to subcontractors administering these tests/assessments (e.g., identification of test-takers, test/assessment security); and specify any significant differences in administering these tests/assessments at low and high-volume testing sites or with test-takers requesting accommodations.

13. Contractor shall describe the policies and procedures for monitoring, detecting, and resolving incidences of cheating including the cancellation of test/ assessment results.

14. Contractor shall propose an estimated cost for each test/assessment administered. This cost shall include all costs associated with preparing for, administering, and reporting tests and test results electronically. The Contractor must guarantee that testing costs will not be raised during the contract period. If there are other optional costs involved with each test/assessment, the Contractor must list them (e.g., study guides, practice tests, additional score reports, etc.) If the Contractor has free test preparation materials available, or intends to provide free preparation materials, they should be listed.

15. Contractor shall describe an appeal process in place for test/assessment test-takers; include examples of valid appeals that would be considered and appeals that would be not be considered valid appeals and rejected.

16. Contractor shall propose a reporting plan that would include an electronic system for reporting the testing/assessment results to the educators, local boards of education, the state (i.e., ODE and ODHE), higher education educator preparation programs, and Title II reporting. Include the cost to the educators, local boards of education, the state, higher education preparation programs and Title II reporting.

17. Contractor may discuss any anticipated difficulties or issues with the scope of work and deliverables as listed above and proposed solutions for overcoming those difficulties or issues. (Not scored)

18. Contractor may provide additional optional information as appropriate. (Not scored)

19. Contractor is to provide a contingency plan for COVID-19. (Not scored).

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

CONTRACTOR PROFILE WEIGHT

Proposal must include a profile of the Contractor’s history of working on similar projects, including their capability, capacity, and relevant experience, which details two (2) previous jobs similar to this project within the last five (5) years, STAFFING PLAN (PERSONNEL PROFILE) WEIGHT

The Contractor must submit Personnel Profiles for proposed Project Manager which include candidate’s education, training, qualifications and proposed work assignment.

WORK PLAN WEIGHT

1. A list of appropriate tests/assessments for all educator licensure areas for pre-service Ohio educators, and a list of appropriate tests/assessments grade level appropriate for Ohio teachers who teach in the Core content areas.

2. A plan to provide evidence that the tests/assessments are aligned with the appropriate Ohio standards. 5

3. A plan to provide evidence that the tests/assessments will be structured as requested 5

4. A plan for how all the tests/assessments will be reviewed and validated by Ohio educators and faculty. 5

5. A plan to determine and annual review test/assessment passing criteria and score. 5

6. A plan to provide an annual technical report. 8

7. A plan to provide evidence that the proposed tests/assessments are standardized, unbiased, fair, valid, reliable, and legally defensible.

8. An implementation timeline (with proposed dates) to make the tests/assessments available in the formats requested.

9. Information regarding the testing accommodations available for test takers with special needs.

10. Locations in Ohio where the tests/assessments will be administered and how often they will be administered.

11. Description of the Customer Services provided.

12. Description of the Contractor’s role and the subcontractor’s role (if applicable) in the testing/assessing process.

13. Policies and procedures for monitoring, detecting, and resolving incidences of cheating including the cancellation of test/assessment results.

14. Proposed estimated cost for each test/assessment administered.

15. Appeals policy and procedure. 3

16. Proposed plan for electronically reporting test/assessment results to all stakeholders.

COMPENSATION

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