Our next round of where the money goes...

...specifically, in this case, $146 million of the Massachusetts education budget for the next five years will be heading right up the road to Dover, New Hampshire to pay for our next round of MCAS testing:

The company's bid for the next five year contract fell below the maximum bid $162,500,000 allowed by the Request for Responses (RFR).

"We have been very pleased with the work of Measured Progress to date, and I am glad that we will be able to continue our relationship," said Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester. "They are going to play an important role as we move forward in our development of the next phase of MCAS."

Under the new contract, the testing company will be responsible for supporting the existing MCAS testing program, as well as implementing improvements to the program. Among the program enhancements the company will be responsible for is a reduction in overall testing time for students and a reduced timeline for the return of student results from fall to the end of the academic year in which the tests are administered.

(the quote is from Friday's press release from the Department of Education)
Imagine what we could do with $146 million if we could spend it elsewhere!