Student Assessment RFP-DAA-2017000223

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) issued Request for Proposal RFP-DAA-2017000223 to procure comprehensive student assessment services for Denver County and Denver City. The procurement seeks a single contractor to develop, administer, score, and report online and paper-based statewide summative assessments across three integrated components: CMAS (Colorado Measures of Academic Success) Science and Social Studies; CMAS Mathematics and English Language Arts including the Colorado Spanish Language Arts Assessment (CSLA); and CoAlt (Colorado Alternate Assessment) Science and Social Studies. Deliverables include test item development, item banking, online test administration platforms with technology-enhanced items and caching capabilities for low-bandwidth environments, scanning and scoring systems (both automated and manual), data reporting, psychometric analysis, and year-round customer service support from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Mandatory minimum qualifications require offerors to demonstrate ten years of experience developing large-scale, high-stakes statewide assessments; five years with computer-based assessments; three years with simulation-based science assessments and automated scoring; expertise in Spanish language assessment development; and Chromebook compatibility. The RFP required firm, fixed-price proposals submitted by April 28, 2017, at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time, with finalists participating in live demonstrations and interviews on May 23-24, 2017, in the Denver metropolitan area. The Notice of Intent to Make Award was estimated for May 31, 2017, with a contract commencement date of July 1, 2017. Critical evaluation criteria included responsiveness certification, narrative evaluation of technical capacity, demonstration and interview performance, and cost proposal evaluation based on best value rather than lowest cost. The contractor must maintain comprehensive data security measures protecting Student Personally Identifiable Information and State Confidential Information in compliance with FERPA and the Student Data Transparency and Security Act, with mandatory incident notification within one calendar day of discovery.

The RFP permits responses from private contractors and not-for-profit firms and institutions, with no specific set-aside designations or restrictions on disadvantaged enterprises documented in the solicitation. The incumbent contractor, Pearson Inc., currently administers the CMAS Mathematics and ELA assessments through school year 2017-2018, and the selected contractor must assume responsibility for Components A and C beginning July 1, 2017, and Component B following a transition period starting July 1, 2018. All offerors must register with Colorado's Vendor Self Service (VSS) system at proposal submission and comply with Colorado employment verification requirements and conflict of interest prohibitions. The initial contract period extends through September 30, 2018, with four renewal options extending through September 30, 2022, and a transition period through December 31, 2022, with potential renewals through December 31, 2024. The RFP explicitly states that no funding source was secured at issuance; contract award and performance are contingent upon the CDE securing state legislatively-appropriated funds, federal funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act funds, with individual assessment components subject to elimination or scaling back if funding proves insufficient. The total contract value is to be determined by the awarded contractor's submitted rates, with specific fiscal year cost allocations established for the initial term and each extension period, and the contractor assumes all costs for educator meetings, travel, facility arrangements, and test monitoring across Colorado's 185 districts, approximately 2,000 schools, and 400,000+ tested students annually.