Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment 2027

This request for proposals (RFP) provides information to enable potential Offerors to prepare and submit proposals for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's consideration.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) ("Issuing Office") has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit high-quality proposals from qualified bidders for alternate assessments in the areas of English/Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics and Science; these alternate assessments will measure the learning of Pennsylvania's students with the most significant cognitive disabilities.

The ELA and Mathematics alternate assessments must be aligned to PA Core Standards, grade level standards for grades 3-8 and 11. The Science alternate assessment must be aligned to the PA Academic Standards in Science Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability (STEELS), grade level standards for grades 5, 8, and 11. Guidelines detailed in this RFP are expected to yield immediate operational alternate assessments for 2027-3032.

The PA Alternate System of Assessment (PASA) must meet standards of best practice laid out in the *Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing* (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education, 2014). The PASA must also satisfy the requirements laid out in the U. S. Department of Education *Peer Review of State Assessment Systems: Non-Regulatory Guidance for States* (U. S. Department of Education, 2015). The results of the PASA for ELA, Mathematics and Science are reported for state and federal requirements.

**Electronic proposals** must be submitted on or before the time and date specified. The Issuing Office will reject any late proposals. Clicking the submit button within this site constitutes an electronic signature.

Each proposal consists of four submittal components: Technical, Cost, SDB Participation Submittal (along with the SDB Utilization Schedule, Good Faith Efforts Wavier request, or both) and VBE Participation Submittal (along with the VBE Utilization Schedule, Good Faith Efforts Waiver request, or both).

If the Issuing Office enters into a contract as a result of this RFP, it will be a Firm Fixed Price contract and will contain the IT Contract Terms and Conditions attached to this RFP in the Buyer Attachments section.

The goals that have been established for this Project are set forth below:

• SDB - 13%
• VBE - 3%

Attendance at the SDB/VBE Goal Information Session is **mandatory** in order to submit a bid for this solicitation.

The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Technical criterion for this RFP as 65% of the total points. The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Cost criterion for this RFP as 35% of the total points. The maximum amount of bonus points available is 3% of the total points for this RFP.

The proposal must remain valid for 120 days or until a contract is fully executed, whichever is later.

The term of the contract will commence on the Effective Date and will end 6/30/2032.