What The Five Ratings Mean (Outstanding To Unacceptable)

Where The Five Ratings Come From

The FAR lets each agency pick how it rates proposals. FAR 15.305(a) says evaluations "may be conducted using any rating method or combination of methods, including color or adjectival ratings, numerical weights, and ordinal rankings."

The five words most bidders see are written out in the Department of Defense Source Selection Procedures (August 20, 2022). DFARS 215.300 tells Defense contracting officers to follow those procedures when they buy through competitive FAR Part 15 negotiation. Other agencies may use the same words, other words, colors, or points. What your solicitation says is what counts.

The Five Ratings, In Plain Words

These follow Table 3 of the DoD procedures, the combined technical and risk rating:

• Outstanding (Blue): an exceptional approach and understanding of the requirements, with several strengths or at least one significant strength, and low risk.
• Good (Purple): a thorough approach and understanding, with at least one strength or significant strength, and low to moderate risk.
• Acceptable (Green): meets the requirements with an adequate approach and understanding, and risk no worse than moderate.
• Marginal (Yellow): has not shown an adequate approach and understanding, or the risk is high.
• Unacceptable (Red): does not meet the requirements of the solicitation, has one or more deficiencies, and cannot be awarded, or the risk is unacceptably high.

Some solicitations rate the approach and the risk separately (Tables 2A and 2B). Risk is then rated Low, Moderate, High, or Unacceptable.

The Words Behind The Ratings

• Strength: a part of your proposal with merit, or that will exceed a requirement in a way that helps the government during the contract (DoD procedures).
• Significant strength: appreciable merit, or exceeding a requirement to the government's considerable advantage (DoD procedures).
• Weakness: "a flaw in the proposal that increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance" (FAR 15.001).
• Significant weakness: a flaw that "appreciably increases the risk of unsuccessful contract performance" (FAR 15.001).
• Deficiency: "a material failure of a proposal to meet a Government requirement," or a mix of significant weaknesses that raises the risk "to an unacceptable level" (FAR 15.001).
• Uncertainty: any part of the proposal where what you mean is not clear (DoD procedures).

The evaluators write the strengths, deficiencies, significant weaknesses, and risks into the contract file (FAR 15.305(a)).

What This Means For Your Bid

• One deficiency can make a proposal Unacceptable. A missing required item is the fastest way to get one.
• Good and Outstanding both need at least one strength. Make each strength easy to find: say what you will do, then point to the proof.
• Writing that can be read two ways can become an uncertainty. Say exactly what you will do, who will do it, and when.

How GradeTheBid Uses Them

GradeTheBid's red, pink, and gold team grades use these same five ratings, with strengths, weaknesses, and a numbered fix list. It is a practice grade, not the government's. The buyer makes the final call.