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Transforming Test Prep: Memorial High School’s Culture Shift with MasteryPrep

  • April 22, 2025
The return from spring break has looked a little different at Memorial High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, over the past few years. That’s because early April now marks the start of “ACT Prep Week” at the school.

Day-long boot camps, daily bell ringers, study halls, tutoring sessions, dress-down days, catered food, and door prizes fill the hallways and classrooms at Memorial—all to create an engaging atmosphere as students and teachers prepare for the April ACT.

“We make the whole week a party for our kids and really push the preparation leading up to the test,” says first-year Principal Michelle Brown, who previously served as assistant principal for five years.

In recent years, Brown has witnessed a noticeable shift in academic culture and student engagement around test prep. “I’ve never had so many kids engaged and talking to me about their scores,” Brown says.

Brown attributes much of that culture shift to Memorial’s partnership with MasteryPrep, which provides test prep solutions to more than 2,500 schools and school districts working to improve student performance on high-stakes assessments.

  • From a Boot Camp to a Schoolwide Strategy

Memorial High School, one of nine high schools in Tulsa Public Schools, enrolls more than 1,000 students. In recent years, the school received an ‘F’ in Academic Achievement on its Oklahoma School Report Card—one of five indicators that factor into a school’s overall grade.

That score is based in part on how juniors perform on a college-readiness exam. For Memorial, that test used to be the SAT. Several years ago, the school brought in MasteryPrep to run a Boot Camp for the SAT—MasteryPrep’s high-impact, one-day workshop centered around the high-stakes assessment.

However, before the 2023–24 school year, Memorial transitioned from the SAT to the ACT and once again turned to MasteryPrep for support. That partnership led to the launch of the school’s first-ever ACT Prep Week last year, culminating in the actual statewide test administration.

“Every time we had a Boot Camp, the kids came out smiling, engaged, and improved their scores,” Brown says.

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  • From Boot Camp to Full Curriculum Integration

In 2023–24, Memorial improved its Academic Achievement rating from an ‘F’ to a ‘D’—an increase Brown attributes to MasteryPrep. Encouraged by that progress, the school expanded its use of MasteryPrep to include:

Teacher Manual and student workbooks of Mastery for the ACT test prep textbooks
The full MasteryPrep Curriculum for the ACT, including four ACT subject workbooks with teacher manuals and scripted lessons
Overheard point of view of teacher viewing overview report from practice tests
Practice Testing & Analysis
(with real ACT questions)
Student using online Bell Ringers for the TSIA2 test in Texas
MasteryPrep Bell Ringers
(daily warm-up questions)
Online Course for the ACT
“It was one of the few programs I’ve ever put into place that teachers and students didn’t complain about,” Brown says. “I had seniors last year asking why they didn’t get the books or the prep week. So, this year I thought, ‘Let’s just amp it up a bit.’”

What began as a single MasteryPrep Boot Camp has grown into a robust partnership—with ACT Prep Week becoming just one piece of a year-round strategy to boost ACT outcomes at Memorial.

  • Embedding ACT Prep into Everyday Instruction

Test prep at Memorial starts early. Students take a practice ACT exam at the beginning of the school year. With MasteryPrep’s Practice Testing & Analysis, teachers pinpoint learning gaps and use that data to guide instruction.

“It helps teachers be very strategic about the lessons they want to teach,” says Assistant Principal Cheianne Ivy.

Teachers also integrate Bell Ringers into their daily instruction to give students consistent exposure to ACT-style questions. “The questions use the same verbiage students will see on the ACT,” Ivy says. “It gives them authentic practice.”

Teachers use ready-to-go PowerPoint lessons and student workbooks that align with tested standards. “If you’re teaching math, you’re teaching ACT Math,” Brown says. “If you’re in social studies, you’re reinforcing ACT Reading, and so on.”

  • Finishing Strong: The Final Push Before the ACT
As test day approaches in the spring, the school steps up its efforts. Students take a second practice ACT, and educators use MasteryPrep’s reporting tools to track progress and target skills for growth.

“Students can say, ‘Okay, I need to work on these three skills,’” Ivy says. “Then they can address them in small groups or individually.”

These efforts all culminate in ACT Prep Week, where this year, around 200 students participated in a final Boot Camp. Held in both the library and gym, the camp focused on strategy, pacing, and key test content areas.

“I think that’s where the MasteryPrep Boot Camp really strengthens it for them,” Brown says. “It helps them say, ‘Okay, I see what these questions are asking me—I have a strategy now.’”

"Every time we had a Boot Camp, the kids came out smiling, engaged, and improved their scores."

Michelle Brown
Principal, Memorial High School (OK)
  • More Than the ACT
In addition to ACT prep, Memorial High School also uses MasteryPrep’s College and Career Readiness Assessment (CCRA) Curriculum to prepare students for the state’s required 11th-grade assessment. Teachers incorporate the CCRA materials into classes to improve student performance in CCRA Science and CCRA U.S. History.

Memorial’s story shows how a focused, comprehensive approach to test prep—grounded in student engagement and teacher empowerment—can drive academic gains and transform school culture.

“All the tools are there, and the kids are getting exposed,” Brown says. “That’s more than we’ve done before.”

School Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Unpaid testimonial. Individual results may vary, and testimonials are not claimed to represent typical results. The ACT results reported are courtesy of Memorial High School. 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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