The Minnesota Department of Education has awarded five-year contracts totaling $100 million to some homegrown companies—with out-of-state partners—to develop, administer, and score its statewide achievement tests.
Questar Educational Systems of Apple Valley, Minn., in partnership with Riverside Publishing of Itasca, Ill., and Pacific Metrics of Monterey, Calif., won a $57 million contract to work on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment-II, or MCA-II, in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8, according to the department, which announced the contracts Feb. 11. The contract also covers tests in writing in grade 5 and science testing in grades 5 and 8.
Data Recognition Corp. of Maple Grove, Minn., in partnership with Pearson Educational Measurement of Iowa City, Iowa, was awarded a $43 million contract to work on high school testing. That contract will cover MCA-II testing in math, reading, and science; basic-skills tests in reading, math, and writing; and several tests for English-language learners.
