Description of the contract
This framework agreement is divided into two lots. Suppliers can submit a tender for one or both lots.
Lot 1 PAPER BASED READING AND NUMERACY (PROCEDURAL AND REASONING)
TESTS IN ENGLISH AND WELSH (FROM YEAR 2 THROUGH TO YEAR 9)
Online Adaptive Reading and Numeracy tests will replace the current Wales National Tests and will be phased in from the 2018/19 academic year, starting with numeracy (procedural), and continuing with English and Welsh reading in 2019/20, and numeracy (reasoning) in 2020/21.
To cover the interim period, Welsh Government wish to procure a full set of paper English and Welsh Reading and Numeracy (procedural and reasoning) tests for use in April/May 2018; Reading and Numeracy (reasoning) tests for use in April/May 2019; and numeracy (reasoning) tests only for use in April/May 2020.
The current National Tests are paper-based tests sat by all learners in years 2-9 in maintained schools in Wales. They are based on the expectation statements set out in the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF). The new tests need to be compatible with previous years’ tests in terms of design and content, to ensure consistency for learners and continuity of data runs and reporting for schools and parents before the move to online tests takes place.
The contractor will be responsible for the development and trialling of the tests; organisation of design, printing and delivery arrangements; establishing a bilingual test ordering system for schools, including a helpdesk; direct liaison with a modified test agency; and analysis of raw scores from the tests and production of look-up tables based on the analysis.
Lot 2
The Welsh Government is keen to put in place tests which provide part of the rich evidence needed to inform learners’ next steps. We believe this is best achieved through online adaptive tests because of the greater accessibility and personalisation they offer and because of the immediate and enhanced feedback they provide.
Based on recommended development time, we aim to introduce national online adaptive tests from the 2018/19 school year as part of a phased implementation programme. The first test to be introduced will be the Numeracy (Procedural) test; the second in 2019/20 will be English and Welsh Reading tests; and the third in 2020/21 will be the Numeracy (Reasoning) test.
The tests will be based on the expectation statements set out in the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework (LNF). They will be integrated with the Welsh Government HWB/HWB+ (http://hwb.wales.gov.uk/) and delivered via this interface. They must also be compatible with in-schools recording/Management Information Systems (MIS).
Because of the nature of the data the contractor will hold, they will implement stringent security arrangements, be at least AA compliant and meet government standards for accessibility and usability.
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