Description
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is issuing a Departmental Master Agreement (MA) to pre‑qualify publishers that can provide early‑literacy universal screening assessments for students in Kindergarten through Grade 3. Vendors must submit a fully‑documented assessment package that meets specified psychometric thresholds (sensitivity, specificity, AUC ≥ 0.70), includes a technical manual, provides parent‑friendly reporting, supports multiple annual administrations, and offers professional development and data‑collection support for three yearly data‑collection efforts. The award will place approved vendors on a Master Agreement valid through June 30 2031, allowing individual school districts to purchase the assessments directly.
• Required constructs: phonemic awareness, alphabetic knowledge, word reading, reading comprehension, oral language, and rapid automatized naming (RAN) for grades 2‑3.
• Technical criteria: classification accuracy (≥ 0.70), reliability, validity, and bias analysis, with supporting evidence tables.
• Vendor responsibilities: technical manual, parent report, professional development, technical support, and cooperation with DESE data‑collection three times per year.
• Contract term: up to June 30 2031 with possible 12‑month renewals; no direct funding from DESE – districts will pay vendors directly.