McGraw-Hill Withdraws From Bidding Process For Oklahoma Schools' Testing

In the wake of the Oklahoma State Board of Education decision last week to delay action on selecting a vendor for winter assessments, McGraw-Hill has stepped out of the picture.<br/>

Monday, September 29th 2014, 12:14 pm

By: News On 6

McGraw-Hill Withdraws From Bidding Process For Oklahoma Schools' Testing

In the wake of the Oklahoma State Board of Education decision last week to delay action on selecting a vendor for winter assessments, proposed vendor CTB/McGraw-Hill says it will withdraw from the bidding process, a news release says.

9/29/2014 Related Story: Oklahoma State Board: Signing McGraw Hill Testing May Be 'Unavoidable'

The board voted Sept. 25 to table a would-be sole-source contract with CTB. The Oklahoma State Department of Education had recommended using CTB for the winter assessment window. An estimated 51,000 tests are expected to be given during that period, the bulk of them being end-of-instruction exams necessary to meet high school graduation requirements.

The department of education is continuing its work with Oklahoma's Office of Management and Enterprise Services to see if any other viable solutions exist, the agency says.

In addition, last week the department submitted a request for proposals for the spring exams to for review and approval since OMES is responsible for issuing the proposals, according to the release.

9/29/2014 Related Story: State Testing Suspended In Oklahoma Schools Due To Computer Glitch

Department of education staff had recommended CTB/McGraw-Hill for the $2.8 million contract because of limited time to realistically initiate an entirely new testing platform before the testing window begins in mid-November.

At the request of department of education, the board of education voted in June to terminate the state contract with CTB/McGraw-Hill. The action came after glitches during the spring 2014 testing, according to the department.

The board is expected to hold a special meeting within the next several weeks to take up the matter.