SOURCES SOUGHT
U -- OJC High School Equivalency Assessment - Package #1 - Package #2
- Notice Date
- 7/19/2013
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 611710
— Educational Support Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Labor, Employment Training Administration, Office of Contracts Management, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, N-4649, Washington, District of Columbia, 20210, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20210
- Solicitation Number
- DOL131RI20667
- Archive Date
- 8/17/2013
- Point of Contact
- Dave Chiu, Phone: 2026933092
- E-Mail Address
-
chiu.dave@dol.gov
(chiu.dave@dol.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- PII Non-Disclosure Agreement PII Data Security Provisions Sources Sought Notice for Request for Information (RFI) No. DOL131RI20667 This sources sought notice is for planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to pay for the information requested, issue a solicitation, or award a contract. No solicitation document exists at this time. The Government reserves the right to compete any acquisition resulting from this survey among small businesses based on the responses received. We encourage firms that qualify under the Small Business Programs mentioned in Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 19, including 8(a), HUBZone and Service Disable Veteran Owned Small Business to respond to this Notice. When submitting your response, please indicate under which Small Business program(s), if any, you meet. The United States Department of Labor is conducting market research for upcoming procurement requirements, entitled " High School Equivalency (HSE) Assessment for Office of Job Corps (OJC) ". The NAICS Code for this RFI is 611710, with a size standard of $14 million. Job Corps is a national residential and non-residential training and employment program for disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16 and 24, serving approximately 60,000 youth annually, and is administered by the Department of Labor to address the multiple barriers to employment faced by disadvantaged and at-risk youth throughout the United States. Job Corps provides educational and career technical skills training and support services. The unique combination of services provided in the Job Corps is intended to better prepare youth to obtain and hold gainful employment, pursue further education or training, or satisfy entrance requirements for careers in the Armed Forces. Job Corps has traditionally provided students the opportunity to earn a GED ® (General Educational Development) certificate at all Job Corps centers. The previously consistent use of the GED ® by all states allowed Job Corps to prepare students nationally for the GED ® exam. With recent changes in state legislation and regulations regarding high school equivalency, as well as changes in the format and content of the GED ® test, additional test publishers have entered the field with new HSE tests. Several states have already announced their intent to use new HSE tests in 2014, resulting in loss of the national norm for the GED ®. To continue national consistency in Job Corps, the National Office of Job Corps is exploring the concept of having a single HSE test, certified by one state for issuance of certificates/diplomas; that would be administered to students in all 125 Job Corps centers in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. This exam should be an existing or under-development product, with the following characteristics: Service volume: This exam will serve approximately 9,800 students annually, beginning January 2, 2014, in 125 Job Corps centers, in all states and Puerto Rico. Content: This exam will be aligned with one state's Common Core State Standards, including College and Career Readiness Standards, and up-dated as new Common Core Standards are added. Certification: This exam will be aligned with high school equivalency requirements of one state, resulting in certification of a high school equivalency certificate or diploma by that state for all Job Corps students nationwide through a contractor-arranged agreement with the state and issuing agency. Administration: This exam will initially be using both paper- and computer-based delivery formats moving to full computer delivery over a five-year period. Contract period: The intended contract period of performance will be five years; a base year and four option years to be exercise at the Government's discretion; from November 1, 2013 to October 31, 2018. Interested contractors responding to this Request for Information are required to demonstrate their ability to satisfy the High School Equivalency (HSE) Assessment for Office of Job Corps (OJC) by responding to the capability requirements listed below. When describing experience in response to a capability requirement, contractors must provide the contract number, Government agency (if applicable), dollar amount, contract period of performance and a description of the services that correlates to the capability requirements listed below. The contractor should also indicate the number of students/program participants served for each described contract. As stated above, the contractor's response to this RFI must address the following capability areas: The major deliverable of this contract will be the provision of a high school equivalency (HSE) test - certified by a single state which will authorize the HSE certificate or diploma for Job Corps students at 125 sites - and testing services, by January 2, 2014. The following requirements must be met: Certification Test provider must arrange for certification by a single state which will authorize the HSE certificate or diploma for all Job Corps students. Test Test must include at least one constructed response item. Test accommodations for individuals with disabilities will be available, including a vendor-developed process for approving accommodation requests. Test must be validated through field testing to establish norms, support scaling, and adjust estimation of preliminary cut-scores. Test must be aligned with Common Core State Standards. Test provider must have a state-of-the art item development process and a substantial item bank. Testing services: The test provider will provide the following support services for testing: Registration Scheduling Customer service Scoring Score reporting to the Job Corps Center and the state Transcripts (both initial and re-orders) Issuance of a state-certified high school equivalency certificate or diploma •· Test materials and administration: For paper-based tests, printing and secure shipping of tests to all Job Corps center testing sites. For computer-based tests, provision of a "system-agnostic" test administration platform that can be used by existing computers at Job Corps centers to administer the tests. Provision of testing materials and training for "third party" test administrative staff. Test administrators will not be employed by Job Corps centers; they will come from other education and training or community-based organizations (such as community colleges or other adult education programs.) For paper-based tests, scanning of answer sheets must be provided. Administration by computer must be secure with robust servers and disaster recovery system. Test Provider will work with Job Corps to provide a gradual increase in implementation of computer-based testing throughout all Job Corps centers. Contracting and pricing Tests must be competitively priced (best value at the lowest price) Bidders are required to comply with the Department of Labor's small and disadvantaged participation goals which will be addressed in the RFI/RFP. Other requirements: Test provider will present a marketing plan to inform Job Corps Centers of the features and support systems for the new test and will work with the National Office of Job Corps to implement the plan. Test provider will support the National Office of Job Corps in developing and implementing a training plan to prepare Job Corps instructors to make the transition in preparing students for the new high school equivalency test, including providing recommendations on curricula, preparation materials (hard copy and digital), and other resources aligned with the test. Test provider ("the contractor") will be handling sensitive Personal Identifiable Information (PII) such as participant's name, birthday, social security number, and other pertinent PII data. Therefore, the contractor must demonstrate that they have in place a company infrastructure and protocols in order to adhere to Personal Identifiable Information data security requirements. The intended contractor awardee is required to adhere to DOL PII Data Security requirements. All interested parties are invited to submit a capability statement. The response must be specific to each of the capability requirements listed above. The submittals shall not exceed 20 pages, TOTAL (including cover letter). One (1) electronic copy of the capability statement shall be emailed to the following e-mail address ETA.lockbox@dol.gov. In the subject line of this email please use " DOL131RI20667 OJC HSE Assessment Capability Statement by (contractor company name) ". All submissions must be received NO LATER THAN Friday August 02, 2013, by 2:00 PM, E.T. Zone. This electronic copy of your Technical Proposal must be word-searchable. A determination by the Government to proceed with the acquisition as a set-aside is within the discretion of the Government. Please be advised that telephone inquiries will not be accepted. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. The capabilities statement package must be transmitted under a cover letter. The Cover Letter must cite the following information at a minimum: 1. Response to RFI No. DOL131RI20667. 2. Company Name, Address, Contact Person with phone number and email address 3. Contractor's DUNS Number 4. Business Size Standard/Classification All contractors doing business with the Federal Government must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. The website for registration is https://www.bpn.gov/ccr.
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