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APP_STATE_GEAR_UP_1

App State GEAR UP Preps More Than 15,000 Students

  • November 9, 2022

For schoolteachers and administrators, it’s natural to feel hesitant when an outside instructor teaches their students, says Jody Freeman, GEAR UP Coordinator at Wilkes County Schools in North Carolina. That feeling dissipated when MasteryPrep instructor Zola-Kai Pollard completed a Boot Camp for the ACT session that left more than 100 students (and even teachers) energized and enthused about strategies they could not only use on standardized tests but also within their classroom courses.

“Teachers are funny; you’ll hear, ‘Who is this person and why are you inviting them to our school?’” Freeman says. “But when Zola walks in, commands a room of more than 100 students and teachers, delivers valuable content review, tips and tricks, and leaves hours later with students and teachers engaged and enthused about what they can bring back to their classrooms, then you have a high-quality product combined with an amazing service of human element and presentation that is irreplaceable.”

15,000

Approximate Number of Students Served

11

School Districts Served

48

Elementary and High School Partners

Since 2018, MasteryPrep has partnered with Appalachian State University GEAR UP to provide test prep resources for the ACT and North Carolina Math 1 resources to more than 15,000 high school and middle school students across 11 school districts in western North Carolina.

MasteryPrep partners with GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) at colleges and universities to level the playing field by providing academic resources to high-need schools. These partnerships increase students’ academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education as well as the number of students receiving scholarships and entrance into four-year institutions. They also boost students and their families’ knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing.  

GEAR UP is one of App State’s college access partnership programs, which also include Upward Bound, College Advising Corps, Young Eisner Scholars, and Empowering Teacher Learning, among others.  

As part of its academic focus, GEAR UP improves students’ access to and performance on a rigorous curriculum that includes Math 1 (one of the four high school mathematics courses required for graduation), computer science and STEM courses, while also ACT performance. GEAR UP exposes students to entrepreneurship, learning opportunities, careers, financial literacy, and the college application process. 

In 2020, App State GEAR UP received $29 million in federal funding for a seven-year extension to improve the postsecondary enrollment, retention, and completion rates of students in Grades 6-12. The grant project addresses systemic and sustainable strategies for increased college readiness, with the goal of creating a college-going culture in each GEAR UP partner school. In 2021, a total of 1,911 App State GEAR UP students who were participants in a previous GEAR UP grant program enrolled in postsecondary education.

“GEAR UP is a powerful tool to provide equity in education by creating opportunities across economic, academic, and cultural categories,” Freeman says.

One favorite MasteryPrep product of Freeman’s is the Practice Testing & Analysis for the ACT, including Study Hall and official ACT® practice tests, along with instant results where students can view answer explanations and review skills on questions they missed, and teachers can gauge students’ strengths and weaknesses.

“I love the fact that students learn why answers are incorrect, and then they can practice similar questions to fix their mistakes,” Freeman says. “If you don’t know why you missed a question, then you’re going to continue to miss it. That’s how you improve.”

MasteryPrep finances an annual scholarship to App State GEAR UP students which goes toward future college tuition for a student who completed the entire ACT prep course.

“In my sophomore year, I had never taken the ACT. I didn’t want to go into the Pre-ACT without any idea of what was expected from me, so I chose to complete all the MasteryPrep modules to prepare as much as possible,” says Ella Irving, a former scholarship recipient, graduate from Watauga Innovation Academy, and current student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “I knew I couldn’t study for a test if I didn’t know the content, and MasteryPrep was the perfect solution. I thought the software was beneficial in that I was able to practice similar question types and manage my use of time to stay under the allotted time for each of the four ACT sections.

Irving says, “I am very thankful for the scholarship, and I encourage other students to use MasteryPrep.”

Unpaid testimonial. Individual results may vary, and testimonials are not claimed to represent typical results. ACT score average and gain data courtesy of MasteryPrep client district and based on year over year ACT test data for the same cohort. All testimonials are real participants, and may not reflect the typical user’s experience, and are not intended to represent or guarantee that anyone will achieve the same or similar results.

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ACT® is the registered trademark of ACT, Inc. Some items in MasteryPrep programs are the copyrighted content of ACT, Inc. and are reproduced with permission. SAT® is a trademark of the College Board. MasteryPrep LLC has no affiliation with College Board MasteryPrep SAT programs are not approved or endorsed by College Board. The Texas Success Initiative Assessment 2.0 (TSIA2) is an ACCUPLACER® exam, which is a trademark of College Board. MasteryPrep has no affiliation with College Board or the Texas Success Initiative (TSI), and the TSIA2 Mastery program is not approved or endorsed by College Board or the TSI. WorkKeys® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc. The WorkKeys programs are not approved or endorsed by ACT, Inc.

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