Contract approved for school-testing firm

Monday, Nov. 8, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Board of Examiners has approved a $13.4 million contract for a New Hampshire company to develop, administer and score reading, math and science tests in grades 3-8 and in high school.

Forty-three percent of the money for the testing will come from the federal government and the state will chip in the remaining 57 percent, officials said.

The contract, approved Friday, calls for Measured Progress of Dover N.H., a 20-year-old nonprofit company, to conduct the handle the work for the two years and eight months.

The contract was amended Friday at the suggestion of board chairman Gov. Kenny Guinn, who said he wanted to make sure Measured Progress could not pull out of the deal in the middle of a testing period.

Without the amendment, the state or the company could end the contract with 90 days notice.

Paul LaMarca, assistant deputy superintendent of testing in the state Department of Education, said the contract provides penalties for poor performance and Measured Progress has a "strong quality assurance program."

Measured Progress replaces Harcourt Educational Measurement, a company that was criticized for errors in the past two years, including informing thousands of student they failed the Nevada High School Proficiency Test when they had actually passed.

Measured Progress was chosen by the state Board of Education from several companies that bid. The others contenders were Pearson Educational Measurement, Harcourt Assessment Inc., CTB/McGraw-Hill, Educational Testing Service, Questar, Data Recognition Corporation and Educational Data Systems.