27MATALMB1 | Early Literacy Screening Assessments in Grades K-3 | Departmental Master Agreement (MA)

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Massachusetts is seeking publishers to submit early literacy screening assessments for students in grades K–3 under a Departmental Master Agreement, aiming to approve multiple assessments that meet rigorous, state-defined criteria. Proposals must be submitted through the COMMBUYS portal by the response deadline of December 31, 2029, and must include a two-page narrative overview, a technical manual, an evidence form, and a cost document detailing volume discounts. Evaluation is based on a 50-point weighted scoring system, with classification accuracy carrying the highest weight at 25 points, requiring sensitivity, specificity, and AUC benchmarks of at least 0.70. Additional emphasis is placed on reliability, alignment with required literacy domains including word reading, reading comprehension, and oral language, and administration frequency—twice yearly for kindergarten and three times yearly for grades 1–3. Preferred criteria such as Rapid Automatized Naming and encoding/spelling add up to ten additional points. Offerors must hold a valid Unique Entity ID from SAM, comply with Massachusetts data protection laws including M.G.L. c. 93H and c. 66A, and adhere to the Commonwealth’s Enterprise Information Security Standards, including PCI compliance and HIPAA requirements if handling protected health information. Contractors must indemnify the state against liability, retain all records for six years post-payment, and obtain prior written approval for any changes to key personnel or subcontractors. The contract allows for trade-off award based on technical merit rather than lowest price, and payment will be processed via EFT only after the contractor establishes a valid MMARS Vendor Code Address ID. Compliance with state ethics, reporting of legal or financial changes, and affirmative efforts to engage certified minority, women-owned, veteran-owned, disability-owned, and small businesses are mandatory. No federal contract clauses apply; instead, the agreement operates under Massachusetts-specific terms, with no FOB, delivery location, or contract value specified in the documentation.