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REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

RFP # 19-11-28

NORM-REFERENCED TESTS

This is a Request for Proposal as defined in the Texas Education Code 44.031 for Purchasing Contracts.

PART II The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is soliciting proposals for District Instructional Software as more fully set out in this Request for Proposals (“RFP”). One original proposal, one (1) original hard copy, and two (2) USB drives of one proposal must be submitted in accordance with the instructions set out herein to:

Houston Independent School District Board Services - Room 1C03 Attn: Brittaney Isom - Purchasing Services RFP / 19-11-28 NORM-REFERENCED TESTS

4400 West 18th Street Houston, TX 77092

The following schedule and timelines apply to this RFP. The following timelines are subject to change at the District’s discretion:

Timeline Release RFP Friday November 30th, 2018

Pre-Proposal Conference Tuesday, December 11th, 2018 at 2:30 PM CST at Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 West 18th Street, Houston, Texas 77092 in conference room 2C16.

Last date for questions: Tuesday, December 14, 2018 at 10 AM CST

RFP Due Tuesday, December 19, 2018 at 10:00AM CST

Evaluation Period December 20th, 2018 to January 10th, 2019 (Subject to Change)

Selected Proposal(s) Approved

Next regularly scheduled Board meeting after selection (Subject to Change)

Proposals must be submitted in a binder (1 binder for original proposal and 1 binder for copy of original proposal). The original proposal must be labeled “ORIGINAL” and contain original signatures. The copies of the original must be labeled “COPY.” Response submission must be delivered in a sealed folder or container (i.e. envelope, box, or bin). If documents are submitted in an unsealed container or folder, the District is not responsible for any unsealed/unlabeled documents and materials. Each binder and any container for the binder(s) must be labeled on the outside with the Proposer’s name, address, and the RFP number and name. The two USB drives must be labeled with the RFP number and the vendor name.

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Proposals will be received at the above address until Tuesday, December 19, 2018 at 10:00 AM Central Standard Time (CST). A pre-proposal conference will be held in conjunction with the RFP on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at 2:30PM CST at Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, 4400 West 18th Street, Houston, Texas 77092 in conference room 2C16. Proposals should not be submitted before the pre-proposal conference, proposals submitted before the pre-proposal conference date may be rejected by HISD. A more detailed timeline is provided in the Instructions, Submission Requirements, and Procedures section of the RFP. Proposals will be reviewed as received, and in a manner that avoids disclosure to competing proposals. Contents of proposals will remain confidential during the negotiations period. Only the project [RFP] number and the identity of the Proposer(s) submitting the proposal will be made available to the public before award of the RFP.

Faxed or emailed proposals will not be accepted. Proposals will be received and time-stamped at the above location on or before the proposal due date and time. HISD will not be responsible for proposals delivered late by the United States Postal Service, or any other delivery or courier services. Proposals received after the Proposal due date and time will not be reviewed or considered. All proposals reviewed must remain open for one hundred twenty (120) days from the proposal due date pending acceptance by HISD.

The designated Category Specialist during the proposal process will be Brittaney Isom, Purchasing Services, 4400 West 18th Street, Houston, Texas 77092, brittaney.isom@houstonisd.org. All communications pertaining to this proposal must be addressed in writing via email to the Category Specialist, as indicated in the next paragraph.

Questions concerning this RFP must be in writing and sent to the Purchasing Services Department via email to brittaney.isom@houstonisd.org no later than Tuesday December 14, 2018 at 10:00AM CST. All questions submitted prior to the deadline, will be answered in the form of an addenda and posted on the HISD Purchasing Services website.

The General Terms and Conditions governs this RFP and any contract(s) awarded under this RFP. This document can be downloaded and printed via HISD Purchasing Services website or requested in hard copy format via email to Category Specialist Brittaney Isom, at brittaney.isom@houstonisd.org. A submitted proposal is an agreement to the General Terms and Conditions of this RFP.

The District will award this RFP to one or more supplier(s) based upon the evaluation of all proposals received. More details regarding the evaluation of proposals are included in Section II below.

11/30/2018 Date

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SECTION I:

PROPOSAL RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS The Proposal shall be submitted in a binder with tabs as set forth below:

Title Page Show the RFP subject, the name of the Proposer’s firm, address, telephone number, name of contact person, and date.

• Tab 1 – Table of Contents Clearly identify the materials by sections and page numbers

• Tab 2 – Proposal Submission Forms

Complete and return Forms A through M and APPENDIX E to be included in Part III in the following order: The forms provided in Part III should be submitted in the following order:

1. FORM A: Supplier Information (CHE (Local) Questionnaire) 2. FORM B: MWBE Instructions and Participation Report 3. FORM C: Reference Survey Instructions 4. FORM D: Reference Survey 5. FORM E: General Certifications 6. FORM F: Price Schedule (if applicable) (should be placed in tab 7) 7. FORM G: EDGAR Certifications 8. FORM H: Exception Forms 9. FORM I: Conflict of Interest Instructions and form CIQ 10. FORM J: Instructions for Completion of Disclosure of Interested Persons Certification (HB 1295) 11. FORM K: IRS Form W-9 12. FORM L: Certificate of Insurance (Acord Form) or a letter from its insurance provider stating

that Proposer can provide the levels of insurance required in this RFP. 13. FORM M: Acknowledgement Form 14. FORM N: Criminal History Background Check Certification 15. APPENDIX A: HISD Information Technology Requirements 16. APPENDIX B: HISD Data Interface Tech Requirements 17. APPENDIX C: Master Service Agreement (MSA) 18. APPENDIX D: Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) 19. APPENDIX E: Trilateral Agreement for Data Sharing

The “ORIGINAL” forms require original manual signatures. Copies of the forms bearing original signatures should be included in each additional proposal.

• Tab 3 – Profile of the Proposer a. Indicate the key people in your organization, a hierarchy chart with the level of service,

experience, qualifications and the percentage time for each person dedicated to this project.

• Tab 4 – Scope Section Clearly describe the scope of the goods and/or services to be provided based upon the information in Section II: Scope of Work and Specific Conditions of the RFP. Respond to each item listed as it aligns

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with the proposer’s area(s) of expertise via Appendix A: Scope of Work and Specific Conditions Summary Sheet.

• Tab 5 – Questionnaire Response —

• Respond to the questionnaire in section 2.7 of the RFP. Include responses in Tab 5.

• APPENDIX A: Info Tech Mandatory Criteria and Requirements

• Tab 6 – Invoice Procedures a. Describe the proposer’s invoicing procedures. b. Include documentation identifying all of the Proposer’s fees. c. Payment terms: HISD’s standard payment terms are 30 days after invoice is received. State any

payment discounts that your company offers, i.e., 2% if 10 days – net 30; or 5% if 7 days – net 30.

• Tab 7 – Price Provide list of all pricing information, including any alternate pricing proposals that may be acceptable for some projects. If applicable, provide Form F (Price Schedule) in this section.

• Tab 8 – Addenda Insert all signed Addenda.

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SECTION II: SCOPE OF WORK

2.1 SCOPE OF WORK: At minimum, the District is seeking the following goods and/or services to be provided by the Supplier(s): Responses and vendor information related to scope outlined in this section should be placed in the vendors proposal Section/Tab 4 as outlined in section I. INSTRUCTIONS, SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES.

The District intends to award this bid to a single or multiple firm(s) selected to provide the “best value “to HISD per Section 2.5, Evaluation Factors. It is the intention of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) to establish one or more contracts to furnish and/or deliver Norm-Referenced Testing. HISD’s Student Assessment Department is seeking proposals from qualified individuals or firms for a Norm-Referenced Test to be used starting with the 2019-2020 school year. The test will measure reading, language arts, and mathematics achievement in some or all grades, K-12. HISD will use the tests for comparing the performance of its students that are assessed to national norms for Gifted and Talented, and English Learner Identification. In November 1993, the Office of the Superintendent articulated the need for a “nationally-standardized, norm-referenced instrument to complement and supplement TEA’s criterion-referenced testing program (TAAS) and for it to serve as an ongoing classroom assessment program.” The purpose of this solicitation is to enable HISD to select a leading edge and robust assessment system that will provide valid and reliable measures of student achievement that align to a nationally normed curriculum. HISD will use the assessment results to make high-stakes decisions on district initiatives, such as: Gifted and Talented candidacy, and Multilingual English Learner program identification and exit. The desired outcome of this project is the delivery of a nationally normed assessment used to determine Gifted and Talented candidacy, and English Learner program identification and exit. The project goals for accomplishing the above-mentioned outcomes include the delivery of:

• an assessment product that can be readily aligned or compared to data provided by previously administered assessments,

• an assessment system that is moving to an online administration format, immediately or in the near future,

• an assessment available in comparable formats across select languages and an equitable assessment for all language takers,

• an assessment program that can be quickly responsive to changes in scheduling or grades tested,

• an easy-to-use and highly accessible technology solution for providing assessments, reporting, and integration with the existing student data systems and devices, and an implementation plan that provides Houston ISD staff with quality training and allows for extensive post-implementation training and support.

HISD issues this RFP to facilitate equity among service providers and to provide a predetermined set of criteria representing our educational requirements. Service providers should submit a proposal that will meet or exceed the requirements stated below.

The contract term for this solicitation shall be for one (1) year. The District has the option to renew this contract annually for four (4) additional terms of service upon the same terms, conditions, and rates.

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2.2 SPECIFICATIONS:

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

VC1.0 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

Provide evidence that the proposed Norm-Referenced Test can

VC1.01 Broadly represent the educational experience students might have so that the instrument will measure achievements regardless of specific instruction (Nationally normed).

VC1.02 Be psychometrically reliable and valid as understood in the assessment industry to provide reliable diagnostic feedback.

VC1.03 Provide comparable English and Spanish language assessments that cover the grade levels to be determined by the district.

VC1.04 Provide comparable English and Spanish language assessments that are parallel (i.e., equivalent to each other in all aspects of test construction, administration, dialect, translations, and norming cohorts), for all:

VC1.04.01 ~ available levels/grades of the tests,

VC1.04.02 ~ test administration procedures, and

VC1.04.03 ~ scoring and reporting options.

VC1.05 Provide a measure of the grade-level performance for each student.

VC1.06 Be able to scale from grade-to-grade to permit growth measures.

VC1.07 Allow customization of the answer document(s) based on unique student information captured and included in the data records. Houston ISD will provide the fields of required data to capture; this may require reformatting of stock documents.

VC1.08 Permit customizable reports for the creation of aggregated reports to address specific district needs.

VC1.09 Measure clearly defined cognitive achievements, not instructional objectives, from the aggregated assessment level to the subtest level.

VC2.0 DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS

Provide evidence that the proposed Norm-Referenced Test can

VC2.01 Offer comparable test versions for grades K-12 in both English and Spanish.

VC2.02 Provide an equating study, or bridging report to allow interpretation of the vendor's previous NRT results for any new norming periods implemented during the contract period.

VC2.03 Offer the assessment in other languages, such as Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, or Arabic. Describe the specific versions or forms of the languages available.

VC2.04 Does the proposal have any differences between or within English and other language versions offered?

VC2.05 Measure all levels of achievement. In other words, does it provide measures at both extremes of the distribution?

VC2.06 Measure and report:

VC2.06.01 ~ skills,

VC2.06.02 ~ concepts,

VC2.06.03 ~ problem solving, and

VC2.06.04 ~ reasoning.

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VC2.07 Provide a document that shows the correlation between the NRT standards and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

VC2.08 Have more than one rotatable equivalent form for each year.

VC2.09 Support the following uses, including but not limited to:

VC2.09.01 ~ Gifted and Talented identification, and

VC2.09.02 ~ English Learners (ELs) identification

VC2.10 Allow accommodations for special populations. Explain any limitations.

VC2.11 Abide by Houston ISD’s to/from data requirements?

VC2.12 Is there a non-verbal abilities assessment that can be bundled with the achievement instruments? Provide evidence the proposed Abilities test can

VC2.12.01 ~ Broadly represent the educational experience students might have so that the

instrument will measure abilities regardless of specific instruction (Nationally normed).

VC2.12.02 ~ Be psychometrically reliable and valid as understood in the assessment industry to

provide reliable diagnostic feedback.

VC2.12.03 ~ Provide comparable English and Spanish language abilities assessments that cover the

grades K-12.

VC2.12.04 ~ Provide comparable English and Spanish language abilities assessments that are

parallel (i.e., equivalent to each other in all aspects of test construction, administration, dialect, translations, and norming cohorts), for all:

VC2.12.04.a ~ available levels/grades of the tests,

VC2.12.04.b ~ test administration procedures, and

VC2.12.04.c ~ scoring and reporting options.

VC2.12.05 ~ Provide a measure of the grade-level ability for each student.

VC2.12.06 ~ Be able to scale from grade-to-grade to permit growth measures.

VC2.12.07 ~ Allow customization of the answer document(s) based on unique student information

captured and included in the data records. Houston ISD will provide the fields of required data to capture; this may require reformatting of stock documents.

VC2.12.08 ~ Permit customizable reports for the creation of aggregated reports to address specific

district needs.

VC2.12.09 ~ Measure clearly defined cognitive abilities, not instructional objectives, from the

aggregated assessment level to the subtest level.

VC3.0 TEST ADMINISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Provide evidence that the proposed Norm-Referenced Test can

VC3.01 Deliver online assessment administration(s) with the capability of:

VC3.01.01 ~ immediate and automated scoring

VC3.01.02 ~ offering multiple language versions

VC3.01.03 ~ customizing online assessment(s) delivery (i.e. single question/section/subtest, all

questions/sections/subtests, grouping options, etc.)

VC3.01.04 ~ computerized adaptive testing (e.g., length, difficulty, randomized, etc.)

VC3.01.05 ~ flexibility in determining specific classes and students to be assigned the assessment

(e.g., multiple classes/single class; multiple teachers/single teacher, multiple courses/singleton course, or multiple students/singleton students)

VC3.02 Deliver paper-pencil administration for all versions and forms of the assessments?

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VC3.03 Allow customization of the following:

VC3.03.01 ~ answer documents,

VC3.03.02 ~ teachers' manuals,

VC3.03.03 ~ cover sheets of test booklets,

VC3.03.04 ~ subtests administered to coincide only with items/subjects/subtests required for

district identification programs (GT and Multilingual),

VC3.03.05 ~ test books to coincide only with items/subjects/subtests required for district

identification programs (GT and Multilingual), and

VC3.03.06 ~ directions/manuals to coincide only with items/subjects/subtests required for district

identification programs (GT and Multilingual).

VC3.04 Capably and flexibly support

VC3.04.01 ~ one (1) to four (4) Gifted and Talented (GT) administrations per year,

VC3.04.02 ~ two (2) major test GT administrations during late fall whose exact date may fluctuate,

VC3.04.03 ~ one (1) or more other test administrations whose exact date may shift,

VC3.04.04 ~ year-round testing windows (i.e., ongoing assessment windows for the identification of

English Learners (ELs)),

VC3.04.05 ~ a major test administration for the possible reclassification of 1st, 2nd, 11th, and 12th

grade ELs, and

VC3.04.06 ~ 30% of all Houston ISD system users (i.e., students, teachers, administrators)

concurrently.

VC3.05 What are the versions of the assessment covered by the proposal, such as available forms, versions, etc.? List and explain.

VC3.06 Identify which assessments or versions are online assessments.

VC3.07 Identify any assessments or versions that are still under development, and any proposed timelines for completing said development.

VC3.08 Supply assessments in Braille and Large Print to meet the needs of students identified by the Special Education Department.

VC3.09 Provide a list of other districts, especially Texas districts that currently use the instruments offered.

VC3.10 Plan for Assessment Management:

VC3.10.01 ~ organize online assessments by grouping test sessions at the district and campus level,

and

VC3.10.02 ~ online assessments ensure compliance Houston ISD standardized naming conventions

for test sessions

VC4.0 TRAINING

The proposal for the Norm-Referenced Test includes

VC4.01

A customized training plan for district-identified (district and campus level) users in a "Train the Trainer" format for both online and paper administrations? (i.e., explain by providing samples of "common" user roles used across districts as well as samples of training videos and in-context documents), including:

VC4.01.01 ~ training days for specialty groups (e.g., service desk, district administrators, etc.)

VC4.01.02 ~ training plan that is vetted, accepted and approved by Houston ISD.

VC4.01.02.a ~ specifically, all training deliverables must be submitted to Houston ISD for final

approval with a review and feedback time of no less than five business days.

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VC4.01.03 ~ all training documentation in editable formats (Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, PDF, etc.)

and agree to allow Houston ISD to modify these documents to fit the needs of the district during and after implementation.

VC4.01.04 ~ providing all training materials for conducting training. No identifiable student data

can be used in the trainings or any training materials.

VC4.01.05 ~ developing a knowledge transfer plan for the sustainability of support and training.

VC4.01.06 ~ adhering to and providing data for Houston ISD IT training KPIs and metrics (e.g., the

vendor will evaluate training courses by conducting surveys to maintain a satisfaction rating of 85% or higher for the training sessions.)

VC4.01.07 ~ performing mandatory criminal background checks on all trainers or employees of the

vendor entering a Houston ISD building.

VC4.02 Evidence of platform support that includes (but is not limited to): timely training videos, webinars, and easy-to-use guides and documentation for various users and administrators that can be used for both online and face-to-face support, including:

VC4.02.01 ~ complete platform and user support with context-specific videos, help materials, and

quick reference lookups.

VC4.02.02 ~ online assessment training and support with support materials (e.g., guides, context

videos.)

VC4.02.03 ~ content specific videos and training support on appropriate interpretation and

meaning of score data at the individual, classroom, school, and district levels.

VC4.02.03 ~ all guides and videos are maintained and updated by the vendor and delivered

concurrently with system updates.

VC4.02.04 ~ all guides should be customizable to Houston ISD and should go through Houston ISD

revisions, yet maintained by the vendor.

VC4.03 An online system for tracking and certifying trainees.

VC4.04 A schedule of system updates including training and support materials (this includes in-context videos) for online assessments.

VC4.05 A staging/training system to be utilized for training and practice sessions for online administrations.

VC4.05.01 ~ Training accounts should allow trainees to impersonate all roles: student, teacher,

campus administrators, district administrators.

VC4.05.02 ~ Training accounts should have full system capability.

VC5.0 ASSESSMENT REPORTING AND ANALYTICS

Provide evidence that the proposed Norm-Referenced Test can

VC5.01 Provide a database of scores for online and paper administrations.

VC5.02 Offer the option to customize reports that contain nationally normed scores, such as:

VC5.02.01 ~ a student diagnostic report,

VC5.02.02 ~ a student English proficiency level report,

VC5.02.03 ~ a student English Learner (EL) report that can be coded for those students who are

unable to complete testing due to language barriers,

VC5.02.04 ~ parent-oriented student reports and parent reports,

VC5.02.05 ~ aggregated reports to be defined by the district (such as aggregated scores by campus,

teacher, school officer, etc.),

VC5.02.06 ~ parent reports with report and score narrative in other languages, mainly Spanish, and

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VC5.02.07 ~ aggregate report titles that clearly identify the aggregated groups specified by the

district, e.g., non-special education.

VC5.03 Offer scales that provide for the interpretation of abilities that could be expected to correlate with success in Gifted and Talented programs.

VC5.04 Offer Houston ISD the option to receive score reports online, on paper, or in combination.

VC5.05 Provide performance information based on international norms.

VC5.06 Provide performance information based on Common Core State Standards.

VC5.07 Provide any differences in the development of other language versions offered that might compromise the district’s ability to make reasonable comparisons between languages, such as dialect, translations, or norming cohorts.

VC5.08 Provide individual student analytical reports which include an interpretable distractor analysis.

VC5.09 Provide predictive reports of student performance on state and national exams.

VC5.10 Provide the capability to create interactive dashboard reports at the student, classroom, grade/course, school, a custom group of schools, SSO, Director, Area Superintendent, Officer, Chief, Superintendent, and district levels.

VC5.11 Explain scores related to state and national standards for all assessment reports.

VC5.12 Provide statistical analysis of test data for evidence of potential impropriety or anomalous test results.

VC5.13 Address the issue of anticipated turnaround time for test results? Describe your company’s expected timeline:

VC5.13.01 ~ for paper administrations,

VC5.13.01.a ~ for major (i.e., all Kindergarteners and 5th graders) grade level administrations, and

VC5.13.01.b ~ for minor (i.e., grades K-12 but only application-based testing, and identification for

English Learner) grade level administrations,

VC5.13.02 ~ for online administrations,

VC5.13.02.a ~ for major (i.e., all Kindergarteners and 5th graders) grade level administrations, and

VC5.13.02.b ~ for minor (i.e., grades K-12 but only application-based testing, and identification for

English Learner) grade level administrations.

VC6.0 IMPLEMENTATION AND SUPPORT

The proposal for the Norm-Referenced Test includes descriptions of

VC6.01 Vendor support of a phased-in deployment of the online system to the district.

VC6.02 Business processes and system workflow through on-site work sessions with Houston ISD.

VC6.03 Implementation (project) plan with a detailed breakdown of the structure of work based on on-site work sessions with Houston ISD.

VC6.04 Vendor’s proposed support team for Houston ISD (e.g., professional project managers, technical architects, training consultants, business system analysts, and support managers.)

VC6.05 Profiles of employees who will be directly involved in implementation, training, and support of the proposed solution.

VC6.06 Provision of onsite project manager, additional support resources, and technical assistance during system go-live, stabilization, and on-going implementation over the life of the contract.

VC6.07 Details of providing support through toll-free telephone (6 am – 6 pm Central Standard Time) and online help for the system, including:

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VC6.07.01 ~ vendor size and structure of the call center services team,

VC6.07.02 ~ vendor workflow and protocols for issue escalations from the call center to tier 2 or 3

support within the vendor’s organization (e.g., reporting specialist within the organization, psychometrician, developers,)

VC6.07.03 ~ support tools or techniques used to diagnose and resolve critical or escalated problems

more quickly. Also, describe the escalation process, and

VC6.07.04 ~ do you provide 24/7 support options (i.e., Network, IT, System Outages, etc.) If yes,

describe the process for after-hours contact, etc.

VC6.08 Provisions of a tiered support model which enables district-level issues to be resolved ahead of individual teacher-level or school-level issues when necessary.

VC6.09 Data quality issues, as defined by the district, are addressed and resolved within a 24 to 48-hour period dependent upon the level of urgency

VC6.10 Additional support for general program management, including, but not limited to:

VC6.10.01 ~ pre-planning meetings with the vendor,

VC6.10.02 ~ the cost of pre-planning meetings with the vendor,

VC6.10.03 ~ vendor staff on-site to support district during high peak test administrations,

VC6.10.04 ~ vendor staff on-site to support district during check-in after paper-based test

administrations,

VC6.10.05 ~ managing the campus ordering of test materials with either an online or similar

ordering system, and

VC6.10.06 ~ vendor-provided technical support to campuses during periods of need.

VC7.0 MATERIALS HANDLING

The proposal for the Norm-Referenced Test includes descriptions of

VC7.01 Vendor customizable shipping and handling procedures to accommodate district needs.

VC7.02 Enrollment and Pre-identification/Pre-Code Files, including:

VC7.02.01 ~ vendor methodology for verifying that the enrollment file n-counts are consistent with

pre-ID counts before printing materials or finalizing program plans?

VC7.02.02 ~ creating identical pre-coded materials for all testers, (i.e., pre-slugged information

labels or pre-sprayed answer documents can be used for whatever language version is appropriate for a student.)

VC7.02.03 ~ local printing at Houston ISD of identical pre-coded materials for all testers, (i.e., pre-

slugged information labels or pre-sprayed answer documents can be used for whatever language version is appropriate for a student.)

VC7.03 Customizing materials packaging and sorting procedures for district needs.

VC7.04 Recycling unused test materials for use as overage or for use during smaller test administrations. These materials would be stored in a secured Houston ISD facility.

VC7.05 Managing used test booklets and answer documents after receipt from Houston ISD, including:

VC7.05.01 ~ storage of materials for six months or longer periods if requested by Houston ISD,

VC7.05.02 ~ storage and disposal limitations related to these documents,

VC7.05.03 ~ destruction of used materials (secure and not-secure) after a pre-defined and agreed

upon timeline between the vendor and Houston ISD Student Assessment,

VC7.05.03.a ~ materials destruction will not occur until the vendor has confirmed in writing with

Houston ISD Student Assessment that destruction may proceed.

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VC7.06 Shipment of materials directly to each participating campus. This direct shipment entails shipping to approximately 300 locations in the greater Houston area for major testing windows.

VC7.07 Supplying, with each shipment of test results, guides for interpreting reports to assist school personnel (as well as 100 additional copies sent to Student Assessment).

VC7.08 Supplying electronic copies of the norming manuals, technical manuals, and Compendiums of Objectives pertinent to the instrument.

VC7.09 Supplying five (5) sets of hard copies of the norming manuals, technical manuals, and Compendiums of Objectives pertinent to the instrument.

VC7.10 Serialization (barcoding) procedure for tracking secure test materials (such as test booklets).

VC7.11 Local scanning of answer documents for paper administrations, including:

VC7.11.01 ~ on-site technical support,

VC7.11.02 ~ training as needed, and

VC7.11.03 ~ hardware (scanners) (does this require a separate contract?)

2.4 COST: Price shall remain firm/fixed for the term of the annual contract. Price shall be provided on Form F and inserted in Tab 7. 2.5 EVALUATION METHODOLOGY

• Mandatory Requirements HISD IT Proposal Evaluation Committee: An IT committee will be responsible to identify and perform an initial evaluation of HISD technical requirements.

• RFP Evaluation Committee: This committee is responsible to identify and perform an evaluation of responses who have met the HISD IT Technical Requirements standards.

Evaluation Process: Step 1: Receipt of Proposals Proposals must be delivered to HISD in the format specified in Part II Section 1: Proposal Response Requirements of the RFP. Proposals will be rejected as non-responsive if not received by the date specified on page 1 of the RFP. Step 2: Mandatory Requirements HISD IT Proposal Evaluation: This step of the evaluation process consists of reviewing each Proposer’s response to the technical requirements and specifications for compliance with various content requirements, technical requirements, administrative requirements, and completeness. Step 3: Evaluation Committee HISD’s RFP Evaluation Committee will read and evaluate the compliant HISD IT Mandatory Technical Standard Requirements per section 2.5 and 2.6 of Part II of the RFP. The Evaluation Committee will conduct a final evaluation. 2.6 EVALUATION FACTORS: The evaluations committee will conduct a comprehensive, fair and impartial evaluation of all proposals received in response to this RFP. Each proposal received will be analyzed to determine overall responsiveness and completeness as defined in the Scope of Work and according to proposal submittal instructions. Failure to comply with the instructions or to submit a complete proposal may deem a proposal non-responsive and may be eliminated from further evaluation at the discretion of the Evaluation Committee.

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If the evaluation committee has reasonable grounds to believe that the Proposer with the highest ranking score is unable to perform the required services to the satisfaction of HISD, HISD reserves the right to make an award to another proposer that would offer HISD the best value. Some (but not limited to) performance concerns are: past proposer’s performance; the proposer’s financial resources; ability to perform; the proposer’s experience or demonstrated capability and responsibility; e proposer’s ability to provide a reliable business relationships, and the maintenance of agreements and support.

Criteria #

Criteria Description Weighted Value

1 the purchase base price 30% 2 the reputation of the Proposer and of the Proposer’s goods or

services 3%

3 the quality of the Proposer’s goods or services 21% 4 the extent to which the goods or services meet HISD’s needs 23% 5 the Proposer’s past relationship with HISD 3% 6 the impact on the ability of HISD to comply with laws and

rules relating to historically underutilized businesses

10%

7 the total long-term cost to HISD to acquire the Proposer’s goods or services

10%

8 for a contract for goods and services, excluding goods and services related to telecommunications and information services, building construction and maintenance, or instructional materials, whether the proposer’s ultimate parent company or majority owner: (A) has its principal place of business in Texas; or (B) employs at least 500 persons in Texas

N/A

9 any other relevant factor specifically listed in the request for bids or proposals.

0%

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2.7 QUESTIONNAIRE: Please include responses to the following in Tab 5 of the proposal response: 1. Has Proposer been declared in default of any contract in the last 10 years? 2. Within the past three (3) years, has Proposer filed for reorganization, protection from creditors, or dissolution under the bankruptcy statutes? 3. Describe the Proposer’s experience as a service provider to public school systems they have as clients. What are some key lessons learned? 4. Provide the Proposer’s approach to quality control, record keeping and regulatory compliance. 5. Describe how the Proposer monitors service levels to ensure system pricing for tasks remain current and updates are communicated in a timely manner to the client (HISD)? 6. Discuss a recent implementation that the Proposer has completed in another public school district that that went well and what were the top three reasons it went well? 7. How does your firm validate all updates have occurred in the web based system? Are all updates shared to user so user may also confirm? 8. Does your web based system have real time online support during weekday work hours stated in the RFP or does the end-user have to call in and speak to someone by phone? 9. Discuss an implementation that had problems. What were the top three issues that led to implementation problems?