26MACISMB5 | Early Literacy Screening Assessments in Languages other than English

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is soliciting publishers through a Departmental Master Agreement (26MACISMB5) to provide early literacy screening assessments in Spanish, Portuguese, French, and potentially additional languages for students in kindergarten through grade 3. This rolling enrollment procurement accepts submissions through December 31, 2029, at 12:00 PM ET via the COMMBUYS platform, with questions accepted by the same deadline and directed to Dr. Mary L. Brown at mary.l.brown@mass.gov. The assessments must measure specific literacy constructs including alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, word reading, reading comprehension, and oral language proficiency, with administration occurring at least twice yearly for kindergarten and three times yearly for grades one through three (fall, winter, spring). Required qualifications include achieving technical adequacy thresholds with sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve metrics all exceeding 0.70 for identifying students at the "significantly below" risk level; providing composite percentile ranks and risk level identification; delivering user-friendly parent reports in the target language; supplying comprehensive technical manuals with sections translated into English; and offering professional development and technical support to educators. Preferred qualifications include assessment of Rapid Automatized Naming, listening comprehension measures, bias analysis across demographic subgroups, progress monitoring tools, and brief administration procedures with clear directions. Evaluation employs a 100-point framework comprising seven required pass/fail qualifications and ten additional weighted criteria addressing classification accuracy (25 points), reliability (15 points), validity (15 points), bias analysis (10 points), progress monitoring capabilities (5 points), supportive resources (5 points), cost-effectiveness (10 points), administration clarity (5 points), and preferred optional measures (10 points combined).

The Commonwealth intends to approve multiple screening assessments in each language and will establish a pre-qualified vendor list to facilitate direct purchasing agreements between approved vendors and individual school districts and municipalities under Chapter 30B procurement requirements. DESE imposes no direct funding obligations under the Master Agreement; participating school districts bear all costs through separate rate-based contracts with selected vendors. The Supplier Diversity Program requires bidders to commit a minimum of 1 percent of contract sales to certified diverse business enterprises or non-profit organizations. All vendor personnel and subcontractors with direct and unmonitored contact with children or who will work in educational settings must complete Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) background checks. The initial Master Agreement term extends from the approval date through June 30, 2031, with no renewal option indicated, though vendors may request departmental approval for cost increases during this period. Vendors must submit detailed cost proposals for screening tools, progress monitoring materials, and professional development services, specifying delivery formats such as in-person, virtual, or webinar training, with DESE evaluating pricing as a significant selection criterion based on affordability for schools. No specific budget ranges or award values are identified, as compensation derives solely from fees charged directly by selected vendors to participating school districts.