(BATON ROUGE, La.) – MasteryPrep is among 10 Louisiana small businesses named as 2021 Louisiana Growth Leaders by Louisiana Economic Development, recognizing businesses for economic development, success, growth, and community involvement. LED honored the companies at the online Spotlight Louisiana event held April 29, 2021, with the announcement and remarks made by Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and LED Secretary Don Pierson.
This was the second consecutive year MasteryPrep was honored among the Louisiana Growth Leaders.
“We served 395,000 students in 2020, more than double our 2019 reach. It’s a testament not only to our employees’ commitment to our mission to help level the educational playing field, but also to Louisiana’s unique ability to nurture and support growing technology startups,” said Craig Gehring, MasteryPrep Founder & CEO. “This year, as our school partners struggled to educate students through the pandemic, MasteryPrep was challenged like never before. It was the resilience of our Louisiana team combined with the success of our new learning platform (made possible in large part by LED and the Angel Investment and Digital Media Tax Credit programs) that allowed us to pivot and meet our partners’ virtual learning needs.”
Founded in 2012, Baton Rouge-based MasteryPrep provides mastery-based college readiness services and resources, such as for the ACT and SAT, to more than 2,000 schools and districts in 27 states. In addition, MasteryPrep has helped more than 500,000 low-income students prepare for the ACT and SAT at no cost to students.
“Every student can graduate high school with a college-ready ACT or SAT score. Every student deserves to. Students who come from low-income communities have an uphill climb. The tough reality is that nearly 90 percent of low-income students graduate high school without a college-ready ACT or SAT score. That’s why MasteryPrep’s entire focus is on helping schools succeed. We have developed the only ACT and SAT prep curricula designed from the ground up to help schools boost their students’ scores.”
Craig Gehring
MasteryPrep Founder & CEO
In spring 2020, when schools were forced to close amidst the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, MasteryPrep launched an online adaptive test prep program, and released a new course offering platform. Study Hall is an online adaptive test prep program that uses a student’s testing data to chart the path of least resistance for them to increase their score. Snap is a microvideo course platform that allows students to watch up to 30-second instructor videos and answer questions, among other simulated activities. At its peak in 2020, MasteryPrep offered 100 classes a day in ACT and SAT prep.
“We released a robust set of distance learning options that will help systems and schools provide engaging, effective instruction to students either in person or virtually,” Gehring said. “We are proud of our versatility and innovation over this past school year.”
The 2021 Louisiana Growth Leaders include:
About MasteryPrep: Founded in 2012, Baton Rouge-based MasteryPrep provides mastery-based college readiness services and resources, such as for the ACT and SAT, to more than 2,000 schools and districts in 27 states. In addition, MasteryPrep has helped more than 500,000 low-income students prepare for the ACT and SAT at no cost to students. Nationally, MasteryPrep is the preferred ACT and SAT prep provider of the Council for Opportunity in Education, expanding college opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., the Pacific Islands, and Puerto Rico. MasteryPrep is ranked among the Inc. 5000 “Fastest Growing Companies”; featured by “Entrepreneur 360”; and formerly selected among the “LSU 100: Top 100 Fastest Growing Businesses.”