Monte J. Shaffer
61-318-5313
monte.shaffer@gmail.com
IDEA – “STEP FAST TCC”
Create an Online Tutorials to help students prepare for and pass the high school exit exam (required for graduation).
Prove the concept in California; grow into Texas, New York, Florida.
Estimated Size of Test Taker Market
State
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
CA
707,650
712,428
716,350
726,819
738,063
744,173
TX
462,359
459,226
463,080
466,326
470,241
473,626
FL
291,697
286,578
279,934
279,506
274,810
269,892
NY
305,642
297,456
293,283
288,614
287,483
281,392
School & Growth Data: http://nces.ed.gov
Going to Market – “STEP = Strategic Tutorial & Exam Preparation”
The STEP product will be a collection of interactive services to help students prepare for and pass the HSEE (high
school exit exam):
 Free practice test for signing up with SWOT analysis – trial of system & up sell
 Two base tutorial products – Math and English Language Arts (ELA) – specific to state standards
 Full Practice Tests/Quizzes as Rote Practice with Hints, Walkthroughs
 Conceptual Tutorials of underlying principles
 ESL aides (for Hispanic audience)
 Future development will have audio cues
 Augmented product offerings: Student Progress Report (demonstrating conceptual progress), Parent
Reporting Service (weekly email showing conceptual progress and time spent), Incentive Plans,
Community Outreach Plans, School “Liaison” Reporting Service (free for school “liaisons”).
 Flexible Pricing (Students, Parents, Community, School seat licenses, School site licenses).
Delivery Technology – “Post Bubble”
Experience in delivering technology is essential for the success of this product. Monte Shaffer has the Internet
Product Development Experience to deliver STEP with a team of programmers he will mentor. Experience includes
development of Internet Products for the following companies: Pebble Beach, Laguna Seca Speedway, Alain Pinel,
SnowBird, NPS/USMC/ERAU (survey tool), http://www.employee-testing.com/ (online multiple-choice tests /
typing tests). http://www.california-exam.com/ is owned by Monte Shaffer for the initial concept development in
California with the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam).
Most Recent Case Example: Bryan Sudweeks, Professor of Finance at Marriott School of Management,
has been developing a Personal Finance Program over the last four years. Having developed, he needed a solution
to allow reviewers to comment on the content. Monte Shaffer volunteered his services, developed a fully-functional
“beta” framework in 3 working weeks, and has continued to manage the overall technology development performed
by student programmers. Bryan Sudweeks later commented: “I remember challenging Monte to deliver a Webbased TVM Calculator. He confidently said he could deliver, but I was skeptical. The next week he showed me the
prototype and, with further input, the calculator was a success.”
Delivering Instructional Design – “TCC = Teaching Conceptual Confidence”
Content for STEP will be developed by teachers with years of experience helping students learn Math and English.
Internet Delivery on Instruction Design has improved student interest and conceptual learning abilities. BYU CID
(designing of independent study courses), BYU ESL (helping new language learners), and MTC TALL (developing
language competencies rapidly) have all contributed to the Instructional Design to be used by STEP.
EITCC, Inc.
Page 1 of 2
STEP FAST TCC
Monte J. Shaffer
Monte J. Shaffer
61-318-5313
monte.shaffer@gmail.com
Getting to Market – “PUSH and PULL”
Search Engine Optimization will be used to create a trickle “PUSH” technique to individual students in the schools
throughout California, optimizing the following search terms: “cahsee” – “cahsee tutorial” – “free cahsee tutorial.”
Students can receive a discount for the product with a School Promotional Code creating PULL on the school to
inform all of their students about the offering. One student can make a high school of 2000 test takers aware of the
services. Proving the concept will occur during the summer and early fall of 2005 with two representative high
schools: Delano (79% Hispanic, 17% Asian-American, 3% Caucasian, 1% African American – 35% migrant, 58%
economically disadvantaged) and Pacific Grove (9% Hispanic, 8% Asian-American, 81% Caucasian, 1% African
American – 0% migrant, 4% economically disadvantaged). Proof of concept will be further developed by collecting
survey data from over 1200 High School Principals throughout the state using SurveyZ (http://www.surveyz.com).
Creating Networks – “Schools, Liaisons, Young Students”
The reporting tools designed will be given to schools to help track student progress. With student permission,
administrators can see for themselves the progress of the students and the importance of such preparation to improve
test scores. With the new “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) legislation, schools are ranked based on school
performance, including the HSEE. More than Pass/Fail, improving student proficiency on the test is crucial to
improving school performance. Liaisons in Math and English who are already involved in the lives of these students
will be asked to participate with STEP (one Math / one English liaison per school). Not only will they receive
reports on student efforts (both conceptual and time), they will also be the point of contact to distribute promotional
items to the school (Pens, Pencils, Notebooks, Bookmarks, etc.). For their efforts, they will receive a small
percentage of the revenues earned from the STEP service once the student has successfully passed the test.
Competing – “FAST = Flexible  Audience-Based  Scalable Scope  Transparent”
Proving the concept and encouraging student to use of the system will be essential to developing a competitive
advantage. Competitive goods include: traditional paper study guides, CD ROM software, Internet “SCAMS,” and
traditional tutoring. Creating Internet Technologies to deliver reportable interactivity is the essence of the STEP
product. Understanding the Gen Y audience, creating flexible payment options, and creating a synergistically
transparent product are elements of product differentiation.
Sustaining – “STEP FAST TCC”
Economies of Scale, Experience Curves, Network Externalities, and Scalable Scope create sustainability potential.
Profiting – “High Growth NOT Hyper Growth”
A strategy of high growth is best to perfect the process and prove the concept – maintaining customer satisfaction.
Going Forward – “Building Portfolio of Educational Services”
Delivering a quality product to schools and students create future opportunities. Students will be introduced to
STEP before they see Kaplan, Princeton Review, etc. The network increases potential to later enter core tutorial
markets: ACT, SAT, AP, GMAT, TOEFL, etc. Schools will be introduced to the value of reporting tools,
increasing potential for future demand of other Offerings; e.g. products similar to PowerSchool, BlackBoard, etc.
EITCC, Inc.
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STEP FAST TCC
Monte J. Shaffer