Inactive

This is a Combined Solicitation/Synopsis for Naturalization Test Redesign Services. USCIS intends to establish a single-award, firm-fixed-price contract for the requested services. USCIS is conducting... This is a Combined Solicitation/Synopsis for Naturalization Test Redesign Services. USCIS intends to establish a single-award, firm-fixed-price contract for the requested services. USCIS is conducting a trial test of a revised speaking test and a multiple-choice civics test that are included on the test required for naturalization. As part of this speaking and civics trial test process, USCIS seeks to engage the services of a contractor to assist the agency with facilitating a technical advisory group (TAG) consisting of external subject matter experts in fields relevant to the naturalization test content (e.g., adult ESL, civics, U.S. government, American history, citizenship education, psychometrics, assessment design, etc.). The TAG members will review the content and structure of the speaking and multiple-choice trial tests, and they will provide USCIS with edits and recommendations. Additionally, USCIS will need input from the TAG to ascertain that the educational materials and resources for the revised test are developed at the correct educational level and are developed in a way that meets the needs of immigrant learners and the organizations that serve them. *** Amended 03/08/2023: Updated FAR provision 52.212-2 to change subfactor 1c: Staffing Approach. *** Questions Received/Govt Answers: 1. Would you confirm the incumbent is currently providing these services? If so, would you please provide the incumbent contract details? Answer: This requirement is similar to work performed under contracts HSSCCG-06-C-00009 and 70SBUR19C00000016, both awarded to Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Language – both awarded competitively after unrestricted, full and open solicitation. 2. What will be set aside for this opportunity? Answer: There is no set aside for this requirement. It is unrestricted, full and open. 3. What is the Contract Value set for this opportunity? Answer: No contract value is set and the Government does not intend on releasing the Government's Independent Government Cost Estimate since it may be used for price analysis purposes. Provide the Contracting Officer rationale for release of budgetary information if you believe it is necessary in order to bid on this effort. 4. The RFQ states: “The technical approach includes the offeror’s psychometrical capacity to weight test items based on language level and cognitive difficulty” (page 30, subfactor 1a). Can USCIS provide more information about this requirement? Specifically, is the weighting referred to in regard to the development of test specifications or blueprints, or with regard to test scoring? Answer: The trial test data will be used to weight each test item on the multiple-choice civics test based on its relatively complexity, in part determined by individual item performance. Each test item will be placed in one of four test banks with Test Bank 1 being the lowest level of cognitive difficulty and Test Bank 4 being highest. TAG members will work with USCIS staff to review data from the multiple-choice civics trial tests to weight the test items and assign them to their respective test banks. 5. Does USCIS have plans to solicit bids for test/item development for the naturalization test? If so, would the winner of the current bid for TAG work be precluded from bidding on a future test development solicitation? Answer: There are no plans to solicit bids for a contract for test/item development for the naturalization test.