Massachusetts COMMBUYS #BD-27-1026-DOE02-DOE01-135360

Massachusetts MCAS-Alt Statewide Alternate Assessment System

Massachusetts DESE is seeking evidence that another provider can match or improve on the University of Kansas’s Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) alternate assessment system for MCAS-Alt. - Government buyer: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Student Assessment Unit. - Named provider and system: The University of Kansas’s Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI), through its Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS) unit, develops and maintains Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM). No other responding vendors are named. - Requested service: A statewide alternate assessment system serving approximately 6,200 students annually. Assessments cover English language arts, mathematics, and science/technology and engineering, with civics as a possible addition. - Services and deliverables: Instructionally embedded formative and summative assessments; learning progressions and assessment pathways; instructional resources; educator training; standards alignment and publishing; student-level data processing; scoring and reporting; and implementation support. - Notable requirements: Secure, accessible, reliable online delivery; meaningful access to grade-level content; valid assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities and complex communication needs; and reporting that supports state accountability and data systems. Supports include switches, read-aloud, administrator-entered responses, audio, individualized manipulatives, magnification, contrast, braille, tactile graphics, and alternate response modes. Family access to results is also contemplated. - Scale and value: The notice estimates an initial-term maximum of $8.25 million and a total of $11.55 million including renewal options. Costs may depend on participation and assessment availability; adding civics may increase costs. - Opportunity context: DESE states its intent to accept a best-value offer for DLM while inviting objective evidence that another provider can offer a comparable or better system.

Description

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education seeks an alternate assessment system for the MCAS Alternate Assessment (MCAS-Alt), with the posting indicating intent to accept services from Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM). The proposed system includes an instructionally embedded assessment model, assessment and instructional planning integration, learning progressions, accessibility supports, educator training, and student and state reporting. The contract is expected to serve approximately 6,200 students annually, with services planned from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2032, and renewal options described in the notice. This due diligence posting invites responses from other vendors demonstrating an ability to provide a comparable or better system; responses are due December 15, 2026.

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