OMBUDSMAN PRESS INC.
6525 Curtola Ranch Road
Auburn, CA 95602
(530) 269-3230   www.smartgrades.net

The SmartGrades.net and Early Alert:
Your Key to Successful Outcomes with the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI)

The SSFI and Early Alert Report support your BSI Program as follows:

--Quick and convenient to administer
--Easy-to-understand results		 --Instant scoring and reporting
--Links to intervention strategies

The Basic Skills Initiative was developed to assist colleges in preparing their students for success, by providing resources to support students underprepared for college-level work, including those unable to pass the California High School Exit Exam.

A key component of the Initiative is the identification and assessment of Model Basic Skills Student Learning Outcomes, which will provide a uniform starting point for colleges as they implement the assessment process. In addition to skills in reading, writing, mathematics and English as a Second Language, the initiative is designed to "address holistic development of all aspects of the student, including social and emotional development of students as well as their cognitive growth." (BSI Effective Practice D.3).

SmartGrades.net™

SmartGrades.net was developed to assess and promote the acquisition of skills in eight key factors of social and emotional student development that are closely correlated with college success. These factors include:

  • Responsibility/Control
  • Competition
  • Task Precision
  • Expectations
  • Wellness
  • Time Management
  • School (College) Involvement
  • Family Involvement

Each student receives an individual report that reveals their key strengths as well as identifies areas for learning improvement that contribute to student success and retention in college, such as time management and task precision. Each factor is tied to proven developmental education techniques and exercises in the areas in which students need to improve the most.

SSFI/Early Alert Report

The Early Alert Report is a group and individual report that identifies the students that are most "at risk" of not succeeding in or graduating from college so that developmental education recommendations can be initiated as early as possible.

The Early Alert Report also provides aggregated cohort data that can be used to assess program level Student Learning Outcomes, as well as identify learning priorities at the course, program and institutional levels.

The Early Alert Report supports the BSI Effective Practices, which state:

"Institutional policies facilitate student completion of necessary developmental coursework as early as possible in the educational sequence" (A4) and "Orientation, assessment, and placement are mandatory for all new students." (B1)(emphases added)

The SSFI/Early Alert Report offers the following benefits:

  • Identifies students at highest risk of non-return the second year
  • Student and program SLO data are immediately available following assessment
  • Student intervention can commence right away
  • A curriculum of matching interventions is available, compatible with existing student success courses
  • Institutional data comparisons are provided
  • Cost per student is attractive, as low as $3.50 for both the SSFI assessment and the Early Alert Report

To receive a FREE TRIAL of the SSFI Assessment and Report and the Early Alert Report, follow these easy steps:

  1. Go to SmartGrades.net and select "Purchase" in the SSFI Account box.
  2. Register and click "Continue"
  3. In "Discount Code" box enter "groupeval" and click "Continue"
  4. Return to Home Page, click "Early Alert Report" (at left on screen)

If you would like a complimentary interactive online demo, call (530) 269-3230 or email DrEHallberg33@aol.com.