Version: 0.01 Status: Normative Standard
0. Interpretive Basis and Certification Intent ————————————————--
GEOS-FN-006 defines the conditions and procedures under which:
a GEOS Certified Outcome Signal Portfolio (GeOSP™) for Foundational Numeracy may be contested; and
a conformity assessment outcome may be reviewed, reaffirmed, modified, or revoked.
This standard:
constrains certification status and assessment artifacts only;
imposes no obligations or limitations on any School System or School Leader; and
does not regulate funding decisions, contractual remedies, or legal recourse.
Participation in contestability and re-assessment procedures remains voluntary and applies only to the certified artifact under review.
1. Purpose and Scope ————————
This document establishes:
the grounds on which a GeOSP™ certification may be contested;
the eligible parties that may initiate contestation;
the procedural steps for re-assessment under GEOS Standards; and
the possible outcomes of a contestation process.
This standard applies exclusively to:
Outcome Signal Portfolios certified under GEOS-FN-001; an
associated assessment records produced under GEOS Conformity Assessment procedures.
This document does not define dispute resolution mechanisms external to the GEOS Standards.
2. Contestability Principle ——————————-
GEOS certification operates under a principle of structured contestability.
Accordingly:
every GeOSP™ remains open to challenge under defined conditions;
no certification outcome is irrevocable; and
no certification outcome carries a presumption of correctness beyond published evidence.
Contestability strengthens trust by ensuring that certification remains evidence-based, auditable, and reversible.
3. Eligible Contestation Triggers ————————————-
A contestation may proceed only when the contesting party asserts that one or more of the following conditions applies.
Evidence indicates that the conformity assessment:
deviated from published GEOS assessment procedures; or
omitted required audit steps defined in applicable standards.
Evidence indicates that the certified Outcome Signal Portfolio:
no longer satisfies one or more normative requirements of GEOS-FN-001 through GEOS-FN-004; o
relied on data streams that no longer meet GEOS data property requirements.
Evidence indicates that:
a computational, aggregation, or transformation error materially affected one or more Sentinel signals; or
published metadata contains a material inaccuracy.
Evidence indicates that:
the certified artifact changed after certification without re-assessment; or
upstream data, transformation rules, or signal definitions changed in ways not disclosed at certification time.
4. Eligible Contesting Parties ———————————-
The following actors may initiate a contestation under this standard:
the School Leader responsible for the certified GeOSP™;
the GEOSor™ Certified Partner™ that conducted the assessment;
The GEOS Organization, acting to preserve system integrity; or
a Finance Facility, solely with respect to artifacts it relies upon.
No other actor holds standing within GEOS contestation procedures.
5. Contestation Submission Requirements ——————————————-
A contestation submission MUST include:
identification of the specific GeOSP™ under contest;
identification of the specific certification decision under contest;
a clear statement of asserted non-conformity, mapped to Sections 3.1–3.4; and
supporting evidence sufficient to enable independent review.
The GEOS Organization does not accept anonymous or speculative contestation submissions.
6. Re-Assessment Procedures ——————————-
Upon accepting a valid contestation submission, The GEOS Organization SHALL:
register the contestation;
notify the original assessing GEOSor™ Certified Partner™; and
appoint a separate GEOSor™ Certified Partner™ to conduct re-assessment.
Re-assessment SHALL examine only:
the contested certification decision;
the specific artifacts and evidence implicated; and
the standards in force at the time of original certification.
Re-assessment SHALL NOT expand scope beyond the asserted grounds.
For the purpose of re-assessment:
the appointed GEOSor™ Certified Partner™ MAY inspect the relevant School System's Layers A, B, and C under GEOS audit rules; and
access SHALL occur under confidentiality and data-protection requirements consistent with original assessment.
7. Determination Outcomes —————————--
Re-assessment SHALL result in exactly one of the following determinations:
The GeOSP™ remains certified without modification.
The GeOSP™ retains certification subject to:
correction of specified artifacts; or
publication of amended metadata or disclosures.
The GeOSP™ certification status enters suspension pending remedial action.
The GeOSP™ certification status terminates.
The GEOS Organization SHALL publish determination outcomes in accordance with GEOS transparency rules.
8. Effects of Determination ——————————-
Certification determinations under this standard:
affect certification status only;
do not impose obligations on any School System;
do not trigger automatic funding consequences; and
do not preclude re-submission for certification after remediation.
9. Appeals ————--
The GEOS Organization permits one appeal per contestation, limited to:
procedural fairness; or
material misapplication of standards.
The GEOS Organization SHALL publish appeal procedures separately.
10. Recordkeeping and Transparency ————————————--
The GEOS Organization SHALL:
maintain a public registry of contested certifications and outcomes; and
retain detailed assessment records under controlled access.
The GEOS Organization SHALL NOT disclose confidential data submitted under audit except as required by published procedures.
11. Interpretive Guidance (Non-Normative) ———————————————
Contestability protects the credibility of results-based funding systems by:
discouraging over-optimization;
enabling correction without stigma; and
reinforcing certification as an evidentiary claim, not an endorsement.