A new College & Career Readiness Assessment for Nevada Recommendations from the evaluation of proposals received for RFP 3132

Background AB 288 (2013), requires that: – The State Board select a College and Career Readiness (CCR) assessment for Nevada high schools; and – all students in grade 11, starting in the school year must take the CCR assessment to receive a high school diploma.

Request for Information Spring 2014, release of Request for Information to explore options and potential interest from test vendors Proposals received from six vendors Presentations by vendors to members of State Board State Board directs Superintendent to explore options for funding of CCR assessment

Request For Proposals Superintendent worked with NDE leadership and District superintendents to identify funds to pay for CCR for Request for Proposals (RFP) developed by NDE and released on June 2, Proposals received by June 24, 2014 Evaluation of proposals June 30, 2014

Scope of Work In addition to a high quality plan for program management the proposals had to demonstrate: – How the proposed assessment aligned with the NV academic content standards in ELA (including writing), Math, and Science; – The ability of the proposed assessment to provide access for all students, including those with disabilities;

SOW continued The vendor must be prepared to provide high quality customer support directly to schools and districts: before, during, and after the testing window; The vendor must work with NDE to establish schedules for return of materials, scoring of assessments, and reporting of results (not more than 28 days after assessment)

The vendor must provide technical services to NDE to support scoring, data analysis, and reporting. The vendor must work with NDE staff to establish business decision rules for data file layout, data processing, transfer of data, and data privacy

Score reports The reports produced from the assessment data must include information for the student on their status related to CCR; The reports must be able to identify areas of strengths and weakness in the student’s preparation, to aid schools and districts to plan for future instruction; The reports must be able to identify four distinct performance levels for each content area.

Evaluation Criteria CriteriaWeight Demonstrated Competence20 Experience in comparable engagements15 Conformance with terms of the RFP30 Experience and availability of key personnel15 Cost20

Evaluation committee NDE staff, representing APAC, OEO, and CTE NSHE School District State Board of Education Business

Received Proposals ACT, Inc. CTB/McGraw Hill Education College Board Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Evaluation committee recommendation ACT, Inc.

ACT options ACT, (School Day) – ACT (reading, math, science, social studies)** – ACT (r,m,s,ss + writing) – ACT (r,m,s,ss) + WorkKeys – ACT (r,m,s,ss, writing) + WorkKeys

Cost for 35, th grade participants ACT, Inc. – ACT (reading, math, science, social studies) $40.89/ student = $1,431,000 – ACT (r,m,s,ss + writing) $49.00/ student = $1,715,000 – ACT (r,m,s,ss) + WorkKeys $60.39/ student = $2,113,650 – ACT (r,m,s,ss, writing) + WorkKeys $65.50/ student = $2,397,000

Additions Free access for all 11 th grade students to ACT ONLINE PREP ($21.95/student value) Free access to ACT Profile ACT Student Report booklets and reports in English and Spanish.

Concerns Cost Extra cost to state for provision of customized proficiency-level cut scores and reports. ACT has a previously developed data privacy policy that would have to be negotiated. Accommodations must be approved by ACT prior to testing (apps due 1/23/15). Single test date (4/28/15) with single day for makeup testing (5/12/15). Reports shipped 3-8 weeks after test materials received by ACT. (5/22/15 – 7/31/15).

Next Steps If directed by the State Board, NDE will: – Work with State Purchasing to negotiate a contract with the vendor; – Secure all required approvals and signatures from both vendor and state, by July 31; – Have all contract materials delivered to the State Budget office in time to secure a place on the September 2014 BOE agenda (9/9) – Contract to run from 9/2014 through 6/30/2015.