The state of Maine, which pulled out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium earlier this year, awarded its newest assessment contract to Measured Progress, the state department of education announced Thursday.

The $4.14 million contract is for the 2015-16 Maine Educational Assessments in mathematics and ELA/literacy for grades 3-8 and the third-year high school.

According to a release, five companies responded to the Request for Proposals, and the state chose Measured Progress, the Dover, N.H.-based company with which it has had various contracts over the past 30 years.

The state’s new tests will be aligned to the common-core standards. Measured Progress will develop and administer the online tests for grades 3 to 8, and will administer the SAT to all high school juniors, under the same contract.

Besides being administered online, the new assessments for 3rd through 8th graders will be delivered in a shorter timeframe. Part of the Maine testing program also includes a predictive connection to the SAT for these students, based on Measured Progress’ collaboration with the College Board, the company indicated.

Measured Progress made headlines earlier this year when it was at the center of a testing controversy in Nevada over disruptions there in delivering assessments for Smarter Balanced. Ultimately, the company agreed to pay $1.3 million to the state for the setbacks, which the company said were caused—at least in part—by late delivery of critical software needed to make sure the exams could be administered smoothly. The American Institutes for Research, a Measured Progress competitor, had contracted with the consortium to deliver an open-source testing platform that would be used in all Smarter Balanced States.

In Maine, the online testing platform for grades 3-8 will be provided by Measured Progress’ partner, eMetric.

See also:

• Measured Progress Pays Nev. $1.3 Million Over Botched Tests
• Vendors at Odds Over Nevada Testing Problems
• Maine Leaves Common-Core Test Consortium

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