Education officials review second round of statewide test proposals

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Department of Education is currently reviewing a second round of Requests for Proposals (RFP) in connection with the new standardized tests some public school students will take next spring.

State School Superintendent Steve Paine says the first round of RFPs were “haphazard.”

State School Superintendent Dr. Steve Paine said the second round of RFPs were due last week after what Paine called “disappointing” initial submissions.

“We rejected all of the bids. I was very disappointed in the responses,” Paine said. “It was a haphazard approach.”

The companies were invited to resubmit.

The department is receiving proposals for an assessment that will cover grades 3-8 and a separate assessment for 11th graders. The assessments chosen will replace the Smarter Balanced Assessment which was used for the final time last spring.

“The legislature has mandated that we do away with that assessment,” Paine reminded state board members at a recent meeting.

The second round of RFPs were submitted last week.

“They’ll come back in and the way the RFPs are put out there–there will be winners. It’s just strict head-to-head competition,” Paine said.





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