B6.08 - Approve the Purchase of Psychological Assessment Materials from Riverside Assessments, LLC (DBA Riverside Insights) (Sole Source Provider) and from NCS Pearson, Inc. (Pearson) (Sole Source Provider) (Academic Support and Federal Programs)  

Riverside Insights (Riverside) and Pearson provide materials used by school psychologists to conduct individualized assessments of students.  The assessments will be used to support educational planning and help determine special education needs.  Assessment areas include academic achievement, social-emotional functioning, communication, and daily living skills.  

Riverside and Pearson are sole source providers and are the exclusive United States distributor and publisher for their respective test kits, record forms, and associated scoring platforms. Therefore, this purchase is exempt from the requesting competitive solicitations by the Florida Department of Education Purchasing Policy 6A-1.012 (11)(b).

 The mostly commonly utilized items and their description, available only from Riverside, are listed below:

• Batería IV Woodcock-Muñoz (Batería IV®): Academic and cognitive assessment used by bilingual school psychologists to determine academic/cognitive strengths and weaknesses for students who are Spanish dominate.
• Bilingual Verbal Ability Tests™ (BVAT™): Language dominance assessments for students who speak languages other than Spanish (Haitian Creole, Italian, French, etc...).  This assessment helps school based teams determine which language a student may need to be evaluated (English vs another language).
• Woodcock-Munoz Language Survey, 3rd Edition (WMLS III): Language dominance assessment for students who speak Spanish.  This assessment helps school based teams determine which language a student may need to be evaluated (English vs Spanish).
• Woodcock-Johnson® IV Tests of Achievement: This is an academic assessment used to provide school based teams with information regarding a child's strengths and weaknesses within many academic areas and compares that student's academic abilities to those of other children in a standardized sample.
• Woodcock-Johnson® IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities:  This is an assessment of cognitive abilities, which includes areas such as: Long Term Retrieval, Short Term Memory, Knowledge, Processing Speed, etc.  These results are used to help school based teams identify cognitive or processing weakness and what accommodations may benefit that student.
• Woodcock-Johnson® IV Tests of Oral Language:  This is an assessment used to measure a student's oral language strength and weaknesses for the purposes of language dominance.
• WJ IV Interpretation and Instructional Interventions Program™ (WIIIP®): This is an online program used by school psychologists to help develop interventions and recommendations for students based on their academic and/or cognitive profile of strengths and weaknesses.  

 The mostly commonly utilized items and their description, available only from Pearson, are listed below:

• BASC™3 Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition: Behavior rating scales administered to parents, teachers, and students (as a self-report measure) to assess problematic behavior (attention issues, adaptive behavior, somatization, hyperactivity, etc.).
• BBCS™E Bracken™Basic Concept Scale: Expressive and BBCS™3:R Bracken™Basic Concept Scale, Third Edition: Receptive: These measures are used to assess pre-academic skills in young students.  They assess the skills expressively and receptively depending on the child's ability to communicate.  
• BDI®-II Beck Depression Inventory®, Second Edition: This is used to assess students and their degree of depressive symptoms.
• DAS™II Differential Ability Scales™ Second Edition and DAS™II Early Years Spanish Supplement DAS-II™II Early Years Spanish Supplement: This is a measure of cognitive ability and intellectual ability.  This is broad measure, meaning it can assess the ability of students in a variety of ways (nonverbal ability, overall intellectual ability, has a special composite for younger age students, and can be administered in Spanish for Spanish speaking students).
• KTEA™3 Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement™ Third Edition: This is an academic assessment used to provide school based teams with information regarding a child's strengths and weaknesses within many academic areas and compares that student's academic abilities to those of other children in a standardized sample.
• Q-global® Q-global®: This is the online scoring platform for many of the NCS Pearson products.  It is used to provide score print outs, recommendations, and helpful information regarding each product purchased.
• Vineland™3 Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition:  This measure provides information regarding a student’s adaptive ability (self-care, functional academics, communications, etc.).  It is completed by parents and teachers.
• WAIS®-IV Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale®, Fourth Edition: This is a cognitive ability measure aimed to assess older students/adults.  School psychologist can reevaluate older students (up to age 22) if they have a disability and are in school.
• WIAT®-III Wechsler Individual Achievement Test®, Third Edition: This is an academic assessment used to provide school based teams with information regarding a child's strengths and weaknesses within many academic areas and compares that student's academic abilities to those of other children in a standardized sample.
• WISC®-V Spanish Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children®, Fifth Edition Spanish and WISC®-V Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children®, Fifth Edition: These assessments are a measure of cognitive ability and intellectual ability.  This is broad measure meaning it can assess the ability of students in a variety of ways (nonverbal ability, overall intellectual ability, and can be administered in Spanish for Spanish speaking students).
• WNV™Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability: This measure provides an assessment of a student’s nonverbal cognitive ability.
• WPPSI™IV Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence™ Fourth Edition: This is a measure of a younger student's cognitive ability and processing skills.

School psychologists use a variety of sole source assessment materials only available from Riverside and Pearson.  As district departments/divisions order from Riverside and Pearson, purchases for the 2019/2020 school year will exceed $50,000 from each vendor.  Additional assessment materials are needed for the remainder of the 2019/2020 and the beginning of the 2020/2021 school years in order to ensure that school psychologists have the assessment materials they need to afford students their right to a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation per the Individuals with Disability Education Improvement Act.

Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS), specifically Psychological Services, has historically purchased assessment materials from Riverside and Pearson. Riverside and Pearson each provide a comprehensive portfolio of research-based instruments that are valid, reliable, and applicable to the HCPS student population.  The assessment instruments purchased from Riverside and Pearson have been utilized to complete psychoeducational evaluation of students. Such assessments have contributed to the identification of students with disabilities. Currently, 14 percent of the HCPS student population are eligible for special education services.

Psychological Services provides individual, psychoeducational evaluations of students to assist in educational planning.  Psychoeducational evaluation results are shared with parents and school-based teams to promote academic, social, and emotional success for students by guiding the selection of appropriate interventions and the differentiation of instruction based on individual needs.

* Improve the high school graduation rate

* Improve Student Achievement

* Provide a student-centered learning environment that engages every child

That the Board approve the purchase of assessment materials from Riverside and Pearson for the remainder of the 2019/2020 school year and beginning of the 2020/2021 school year.

Anne Townsend, Supervisor, Psychological Services, (813) 273-7095
Holly Saia, Ed. S., General Director, Student Services, (813) 273-7136
Tracye H. Brown, Assistant Superintendent, Academic Support and Federal Programs, (813) 272-4879

 Purchases from Riverside and Pearson will not exceed the amount of $105,000, which are available in the General Fund.

Psychoeducational evaluations are completed by school psychologists throughout the year.  Results are shared with parents and school based teams to assist with the selection of interventions and accommodations to promote academic, social, and emotional success for students.