SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Psychometric Research Three Year Test Study
- Notice Date
- 6/4/2010
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- 541690
— Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, FSA Acquisitions, Union Center Plaza, RM 91F1, 830 First Street, NE, Washington, District of Columbia, 20202-5405
- ZIP Code
- 20202-5405
- Solicitation Number
- ED-FSA-10-R-0523
- Archive Date
- 6/30/2010
- Point of Contact
- Linwood Cherry, Phone: 2023773187, Amanda Pafford, Phone: 202-377-3928
- E-Mail Address
-
Linwood.Cherry@ed.gov, amanda.pafford@ed.gov
(Linwood.Cherry@ed.gov, amanda.pafford@ed.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Synopsis: This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.603, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement requests quotations and constitutes the only solicitation; a paper solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation will be distributed solely through the Government-Wide Point of Entry, www.fedbizopps.gov. Request for Quotation Number ED-FSA-10-R-0523 three year test studies shall be referenced on any quotation. This solicitation is being issued under the Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP). All future information about this acquisition including solicitation amendments will also be distributed solely through this site. Interested parties are responsible for monitoring this site to ensure that they have the most up-to-date information about this acquisition. This action will result in a Firm Fixed Price Purchase Order. The Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, is seeking qualified psychometricians to determine whether analyses of tests performed by test publishers meet basic standards. The analyses to be reviewed are of tests used to determine federal student aid eligibility for a student who does not have a high school diploma or its equivalent. By law, such a student may still be eligible for Federal student aid, if the student can demonstrate the "ability to benefit" (ATB) from the training or education offered by a postsecondary institution. The Secretary of Education periodically approves ATB tests as submitted by private test publishers. The test publishers are subsequently required to conduct a study three years after the approval date (and for each subsequent three year period) to analyze the test scores of students who take the ATB tests in order to qualify for Title IV, HEA program benefits (student financial aid). The analysis is to determine whether the test scores produce any irregular patterns that raise an inference that tests were not being properly administered. Copies of these three year test studies are required to be sent to the Secretary of Education for review. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid will select an expert(s) in the field of education testing and assessment, who possesses the appropriate advanced degrees and experience in test development or psychometric research to determine whether the three year test studies meet the requirements under 34 CFR 668.150(b)(8) and the American Psychological Association and the National Council on Measurement in Education standards for testing. Federal Student Aid needs the services of a psychometrician(s) to review these three year test studies to ensure that the test studies meet the standards delineated in the regulations -34 CFR 668, Subpart J. The Statement of Work at the end of this notice has further information on the standards. No travel will be required for this RFQ. The psychometrician(s) will review each three- year test study separately. If there is more than one psychometrician, they will confer (via telephone, e-mail, etc.) and submit a joint list of comments and questions to the Department of Education, Federal Student Aid representative via e-mail. The government representative will forward the list to the test publisher for their consideration and comments, and then return the publisher's response back to the psychometrician(s) to work through any remaining issues. Once all issues are resolved, the final deliverable is a report from the psychometrician(s) indicating their recommendation for either approval or disapproval of the three year test study. If disapproved, the psychometrician(s) will provide a detailed explanation for recommending denial along with the specific steps that the publisher needs to take in order to obtain approval. Federal Student Aid intends to issue one Purchase Order for the above services to the responsible vendor whose quote conforms to this solicitation and is determined to be the best value to the Government. The evaluation will be based on information provided by the vendor in the quote, which shall include a technical volume, a price volume and past performance information. The Government is not responsible for locating or securing any information that is not identified in the quotation but may do so at its discretion. Offerors shall submit two references for evaluation of past performance of same or similar services, which have been successfully completed by the quoter within the past two (2) years. Please review the commercial item clauses for information about requirements and instructions for submitting a quotation. The following provisions and clauses apply to this procurement: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision 52.212-1, Instructions to Offeror - Commercial Items (Sept 2006); FAR provision 52.212-2, Evaluation - Commercial Items (Jan 1999) (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: 1. Technical capability of the item to meet the Government requirement, 2. Price, and 3. Past Performance. All evaluation factors are of equal importance. (b) A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer's specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. (End of provision) FAR provision 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certification - Commercial Items (Nov 2006) - All offerors shall include a completed copy of this provision with their quote; FAR clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items (Feb 2007); FAR clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial Items (Nov 2006) Clauses incorporated by reference may be accessed in full text at http://www.arnet.gov. All quotes from responsible sources will be considered. Quotes will only be accepted electronically and are to be submitted to Linwood.Cherry@ed.gov and/or Amanda.Pafford@ed.gov. No other method of submission will be accepted. The deadline for quotes is June 15, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Quotes shall include pricing per test review. Statement of Work Background: Federal Student Aid (FSA) is the office in the United States Department of Education that deals with funding post-secondary education through federal grant, work-study and loan programs for students attending eligible and participating institutions of higher education. General student eligibility requires, among other conditions, that students have a high school diploma or its equivalent in order to participate in the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), funding programs. However, the law and regulations establish an ability-to-benefit (ATB) option to allow students who do not have a high school diploma or equivalent and who did not complete secondary school in a home-school setting to show that they have the "ability to benefit" from the training or education offered by a post-secondary institution and as such can therefore qualify for federal grant or loan assistance. ATB tests are approved by the Department of Education based on criteria established in the regulations. The ATB tests are produced by test publishers and provided to independent test administrators or assessment center to be given to eligible students. Test publishers are required to review test scores to look for patterns of irregularity that could indicate that tests are not being properly administered. FSA is seeking the services of a qualified psychometrician(s) to determine whether the three year test score analyses submitted by the test publishers produce a pattern of irregularity that raises an inference that the ATB tests were not being administered properly. ATB test publishers are required by regulation to produce this analysis every three years following the Secretary's approval of any ATB test. FSA seeks experts in the field of education testing and assessment, who possess the appropriate advanced degrees and experience in psychometric research to confirm the validity of the anomaly analysis and provide the Secretary with their suggested corrective actions for publishers whose three year test anomaly submissions do not sufficiently determine whether there is a pattern of irregularity. Objectives/Tasks: A. Review - The selected vendor will review up to seven (7) three-year anomaly analysis reports submitted by the test publishers to ensure that they meet the requirements of the agreement between FSA and the test publishers as identified below. In conducting and reporting the analysis, the test publisher will: 1. Collect sufficient data from test administrators and schools to evaluate and explain the potential reasons for test score anomalies; 2. Describe in detail the standards for determining a regular distribution of test scores; 3. Describe the factors used to identify irregular test score patterns, and 4. Identify schools or test centers that have irregular test score patterns and rank the severity of the irregularities at those test sites. B. Assessment/Verification - The selected vendor, upon review of the anomaly analysis report, will determine the accuracy and completeness of the information provided based on the requirements above and using industry standards, guidelines and practices, such as the Standards of Educational and Psychological Testing produced by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association and National Council on Measurement in Education. Requirements/Deliverables 1. A copy of each three-year anomaly analysis will be mailed to the vendor and must be returned to FSA with the final report. The due date for the deliverable will be determined at Purchase Order award. All inquiries from the test publishers regarding the data or information presented in the analysis must be submitted to FSA in writing with reference to the Point of Contact (POC) for each of the test publishers. A dated written report for each three-year anomaly analysis reviewed indicating whether the analysis met or did not meet the requirements stated in sub-paragraph "A" above. 2. The report must confirm that the methodology used by the test publisher was accurate and indicate whether it did or did not meet industry standards. The report must identify missing or incomplete elements or flaws in the methodology of the analysis used by the test publishers. If the submission from the test publisher does not meet industry standards, the report must detail the reasons and identify specific steps that the publisher needs to take to bring the analysis into compliance and be eligible for approval. Finally, the report must include recommendations regarding the methodology or analysis employed.
- Web Link
-
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- Record
- SN02169528-W 20100606/100604235457-c33436b6de83d6db34421d2d49bd6caf (fbodaily.com)
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