Internecine Testing Industry Warfare

[Bob Schaeffer <bobschaeffer@earthlink.net>]

 Test firm sees bias in bidding process

              APPLICANT SAYS SYSTEM IS RIGGED TO FAVOR ETS
              (Newark, NJ) Star-Ledger -- January 06, 2003
                         by John Mooney

Giving new meaning to the term "high-stakes testing," New Jersey's quest 
to revamp its elementary school exams has turned into a bitter battle 
over tens of millions of dollars among some of the nation's leading 
testing companies.

The McGreevey administration is once again seeking a private company to 
develop and administer a new third-grade reading and math test and a 
revised fourth-grade exam. The plan is to have the new tests in place 
this spring.
Try Our Classifieds


But now one of the contenders for the deal is crying foul, charging even 
before the contract is awarded that the state has "tailor-made" the bid 
process for Educational Testing Service, the Princeton-based 
organization best known for the SATs and other national exams.

The debate reflects the intense competition under way in New Jersey and 
elsewhere for the contracts to develop and administer statewide tests, 
especially under new federal laws that require annual testing in 
elementary and middle schools by next year.

"There are only a handful of companies that have the capacity to do a 
state like New Jersey, and it certainly looks like they all want it," 
said Gregory Camilli, a Rutgers professor in education and nationally 
recognized expert in student testing. "That type of competition suggests 
there is a nice profit to be made."

The formal protest from Harcourt Educational Measurement of Texas has 
come as the two companies -- as well as two others -- are vying for the 
state's contract, which could be awarded as soon as this week.

The state, in asking for specific technical details in its bid request, 
"is knowingly attempting to exclude all but ETS from successfully 
bidding," reads the complaint from Harcourt's lawyers, filed on Dec. 31.

Three days later, new bids were opened, with ETS coming in with by far 
the most expensive proposal at $35.6 million over four years. Harcourt 
proposed $20.9 million. The other two bidders, NCS-Pearson and 
CTB-McGraw Hill, proposed $18.5 million and $20 million, respectively.

ETS won a first round of bidding last month with a $33 million proposal, 
almost twice the amount of Harcourt's. But after Harcourt appealed then 
as well, ETS' bid was rejected by the state treasurer's office as not 
conforming to the state's requirements.

State officials last week said they made no revisions in the second 
round of bidding that favor ETS. "A large portion of our discussions was 
to make our language very clear in our (request for proposals) so that 
everyone would have an opportunity," said Richard Ten Eyck, an assistant 
education commissioner.

ETS on Friday issued a three-paragraph statement declaring that it would 
not comment on the appeal, but that "we do fear that repeated challenges 
will jeopardize the state's efforts to implement the reforms envisioned."

Harcourt's latest protest is based on several grounds, contending that 
the state's revisions in the bid process all help ETS' prospects.

Much of the debate has centered on how customized the state wants its 
test, with ETS offering the more expensive custom-made test while 
Harcourt would fine-tune one of its more standardized "off-the-shelf" 
tests to meet the state's requirements.

Now, Harcourt contends the state, in its latest bid process, has all but 
banned the "off-the-shelf" tests, saying the new federal law would 
disallow them. But Harcourt contests that interpretation, and points out 
ETS' proposal was the only one composed exclusively of custom-made 
questions.

Elsewhere in the bid request, the state asked for reading passages of 
between 1,000 and 2,100 words and for math questions that employ 
hands-on "manipulatives," such as wooden blocks.

"To Harcourt's knowledge, ETS' (previous) bid proposal was the only one 
to contain longer reading passages between 1,000 and 2,100 words in 
length and the use of manipulatives in math items," reads Harcourt's 
complaint.

State officials said none of the changes precludes any of the companies 
from winning the contract.

"When we are talking about a multimillion-dollar award, anybody who 
hasn't gotten the award would be looking at places where they think the 
playing field isn't level," said Ten Eyck. "It is understandable, but in 
this case not valid."