Department of Defense Education Activity, Hqs, Procurement Div, 4040 N. Fairfax Drive, 4th Floor, Arlington, Va 22203

U -- LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON DODEA TRANSFER & GRADUATE STUDENTS SOL MDA410-99-R-0006 DUE 032699 POC Vicki Liedel, (703) 696-3852, x1411 This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The Solicitation Number is MDA410-99-R-0006. This action will be processed using simplified acquisition procedures. The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is an education activity and qualifies for academic/educational pricing. DoDEA requires a longitudinal study of DoDEA's transfer students and of DoDEA graduates. This study examines the educational experience of students in DoDEA schools as a predictor of adjustment and success in subsequent educational settings. Assessing the educational careers of transfer students and graduates requires data that documents educational achievement and data that addresses the perceptions of stakeholders as well. The results of this studywill identify factors that greatly influence the satisfaction of DoDEA's stakeholders and inform the process of system-wide strategic planning. The system of overseas schools, DoD Dependent Schools (DoDDS), serves an estimated 80,000 students in 161 schools worldwide. The U.S. system of schools, DoD Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools (DDESS), is comprised of 35,000 students in 65 schools located in seven states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The main goals of this longitudinal study are to assess what happens to DoDEA students after they transfer to non-DoDEA schools and after they graduate. The study should answer three main evaluation questions: 1. How are transferred DoDEA students in selected grades adjusting and achieving in non-DoDEA schools? 2. How are DoDEA graduates realizing their post-secondary plans? 3. What patterns and gains both over the time of student attendance and over the range of student achievement does a value-added assessment of DoDEA impact on academic performance and adjustment demonstrate? The main variables of the study are actual grade or course placement and academic performance for transfer students, and actual educational/career choices for graduates. In addition, perceptions of the following DoDEA client groups need to be assessed under this contract: a) parents; and b) students. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: 1) TRANSFER STUDENTS: The contractor will provide an off-the-shelf written survey instrument or construct a brief follow-up survey that collects data on grade/course placement and academic proficiency of students who transfer to non-DoDEA schools. The survey will address perceptions of quality of services and indicators of school adjustment of students. Data collection will include actual grade/course placement, norm-referenced test scores and other assessment scores. The contractor will administer the surveys to the parents and students of grades 4,8, and 11 during the first year after transfer, starting in May 1999. A follow-up is planned for SY2000. About ten percent of the students leave DoDEA every year. The contractor will survey about 1,025 fourth graders, 677 eighth graders and 395 eleventh graders for a total population of 2,097 transfer students. The survey will include students in both DoDDS and DDESS. GRADUATES: The contractor will provide a brief survey that collects data from seniors on career paths actually taken after graduation from DoDEA schools. Measures will include satisfaction ratings with DoDEA high school services received. Also included will be data on post-secondary plans, and actual career paths, e.g. colleges accepted verses colleges attended, course placement, GPA scores, job training and military services. The follow-up study of graduates will measure their academic proficiency and development as "lifelong learners". The survey will be administered one year and up to four years after graduation in 1999 and include all three thousand graduates of DoDDS and DDESS. The contractor will provide written survey instruments needed to survey all selected respondents. The contractor will ship the instruments directly to each school's point of contact, along with procedures for conducting the study. The schools will mail all surveys for scoring in one shipment to the contractor. The contractor will input all information into a longitudinal database. The contractor will provide to DoDEA Headquarters, districts and schools the appropriate annual reports as delineated. DELIVERABLES: Five annual meetings between the contractor and DoDEA staff are incorporated within the scope of the four-year contract. The contractor will provide a review of the literature of follow-up studies and rationale for selecting best practices for this study. The contractor will adapt off-the-shelf instruments or construct a follow-up survey to collect data on grade/program placement and academic proficiency of students, and career paths planned versus actual choices. Longitudinal measures will include actual grade/course placement, norm-referenced test scores on reading, language, mathematics, science, social studies as well as writing assessment scores. Perceptions of quality of services and indicators of school adjustment of students will also be assessed each year. The contractor will score and analyze results and provide DoDEA with reports and data tables for system, district, and school. Beginning with the second year of the study, the contractor will produce cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the data. For each year, the data tables will include percentages of responses for each survey item and averages for achievement indicators, to be disaggregated by gender, grade level, and length of attendance in DoDEA schools, etc. The contractor will also provide DoDEA Headquarters with an executive summary, report and data tables for DoDEA, DDESS, and DoDEA. The contractor will conduct annual briefings at DoDEA Headquarters on the results of this study. The follow-up study of transfer students will be completed by June 2000 and the study of graduates will be completed by June 2003. The work to be performed contains the following components and deliverables: A. Provide DoDEA with a literature review and a multi-year plan for data collection based on best practices used in U.S. studies no later than 4 weeks after contract award; B. Provide DoDEA with data collection instruments and surveys within 4 weeks after contract award. The surveys will be brief and have a range of 10-20 questions. DoDEA will review and edit any instructions and questions; C. DoDEA will assist the contractor in obtaining addresses of transfer students and graduates as well as other pertinent data during April of each contract year; D. The contractor will ship the surveys to a point of contact at each school for transfer students and to graduates and their parents. The contractor will include in the shipment, clearly written procedures for taking the surveys. Respondents will receive surveys no later than May 14, 1999 and by about the same date during each subsequent contract year; E. The point of contact ineach school will be responsible for the distribution to the parents and students at each school; F. Contractor will receive the surveys from each school or from graduates and their parents. Contractor will receive surveys no later than December 6, 1999 and by about the same date during each contract year; G. Contractor will enter each survey into an electronic data by December 20, 1999 and by about the same date during each contract year; H. Contractor will provide DoDEA the following reports by January 17, 2000 and by about the same time each contract year: (a) report for DoDEA, DoDDS, DDESS with executive summary, (b) report for each district, including executive summary; and (c) summary report for each school; I. Contractor will provide district superintendents the following reports by February 21, 2000 and by about the same time each contract year: (a) report for each district, including executive summary; (b) summary report for each school; J. Contractor will provide school principals with the followingreports by March 6, 2000 and by about the same time of each contract year: (a) report for each district, including executive summary; (b) summary report for each school and each respondent; K. Contractor will provide DoDEA Headquarters the following reports by March 6, 2000 and at about the same time each contract year: (a) one set of data tables with percentages of responses for each question disaggregated by gender, grade level, etc. for levels H a-c; (b) five separate sets of data tables with percentages of responses for each question disaggregated by gender, grade level, etc; (c) a copy of the electronic database containing all data collected; and (d) final annual briefing on results of the study at DoDEA Headquarters in Arlington, VA, to include briefing slides. Five meetings between the contractor and the government will be incorporated within the scope of this contract. Period of Performance: TRANSFER STUDY -- base year plus one one-year option. GRADUATE STUDY -- base year plus three one-year options. The following clauses/provisions apply to this solicitation and are in effect through FAC 97-10 and DAC 91-13: FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial; 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items. A single award will be made to the responsible offeror whose offer conforms with all requirements of this solicitation and whose proposal reflects the best value to the Government. Proposals will be evaluated based on the following categories: A. Quality of literature review on follow-up and longitudinal studies; B. Past experience and performance in conducting large-scale longitudinal studies; C. Quality of plan for cost-effective data collection and project administration; and D. Corporate capabilities and personnel to perform the work. 52.212-3, Offerors Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, which MUST accompany the offeror's proposal; 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity, 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Special Disabled and Vietnam Era Veterans; 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Handicapped Workers; 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era. The following DFAR provisions are hereby incorporated by reference: 252.204-7004, Required Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and 252.232-7009, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer. CLIN 0001 -- Transfer Survey/Study (FY99); CLIN 0002 -- Graduate Survey/Study (FY99); CLIN 0003 -- Transfer Survey/Study (Option Year 1 -- FY00); CLIN 0004 -- Graduate Survey/Study (Option Year 1 -- FY00); CLIN 0005 -- Graduate Survey/Study (Option Year 3 -- FY01); CLIN 0006 -- Graduate Survey/Study (Option Year 4 -- FY02). The following items shall be submitted in writing, to the address shown above, by 4:00 p.m., EST, 26 Mar 99: 1. Proposal, along with Representations and Certifications; 2. Two references (point of contact name and telephone number); 3. Cost Breakout, i.e., labor, travel, postage, cost of reports, etc. Contractors are also requested to provide DUNs, Taxpayer ID Number and Cage Code, if available. Fax proposals are not acceptable. For additional information, contact Vicki Liedel, (703) 696-3852, x1411. Posted 03/08/99 (W-SN305954). (0067)

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