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Western_Hills_Group

Western Hills High School Improves ACT Composite by 2 Points

  • May 24, 2023

Not even a high wind and rain storm that knocked out power and postponed the ACT® could shake the confidence and focus of Western Hills High students.

Juniors from the Frankfort, Kentucky-based high school improved their ACT composite average by 2.1 points, including a jump of 3.5 points in English, on the March 8 mandated ACT test held at Western Hills High.

On March 2, Western Hills partnered with MasteryPrep to host a Boot Camp for the ACT for 67 juniors who were 1-4 points away from meeting Kentucky system-wide benchmarks in any of the ACT sections. The ACT was scheduled for March 7. But on March 3, wind gusts as high as 70 miles per hour blew through Frankfort and left thousands without power, causing school closures. 

“It was not ideal for trying to get the best rest and nutrition for the big exam. It adds to the impact that the MasteryPrep Boot Camp had on helping students stay confident, focused, and relaxed, even through adversity,” says Ryan King, Principal of Western Hills High Schools.

  • 'Relentless' Efforts

The Western Hills High 2023 junior class—181 students—scored an 18.8 composite, up 2.1 from the 16.7 the same students scored as sophomores in 2022. English improved 3.5 (15.3 to 18.8); Reading, up 2.1 (17.1 to 19.2); Science, up 1.7 (17.4 to 19.1); and Math, up 1.3 (16.4 to 17.7).

“Like everyone, our scores trended downward over recent years, but our teachers and staff are relentless in their efforts to prepare students to be college and career-ready,” King says. “You can see from the data and timeline that along with the tremendous efforts of our teachers, MasteryPrep played a pivotal role in our improvement.”

King added that Western Hills High teachers held extra study sessions and researched various ACT prep programs with our School-Based Decision-Making Council ultimately landing on MasteryPrep’s Boot Camp for the ACT as a way to help as many students as possible to reach benchmark scores.

King said the 67 students who attended the MasteryPrep Boot Camp for the ACT showed an average increase of 2.1 points on their composite score, with 56 students growing by between one and seven points. One student-athlete improved his composite from 19 to 21. He exhibited a six-point jump in English from 14 to 20 and achieved benchmarks in that section and overall.

“His opportunities to compete at the Division I level have opened up now that he has achieved benchmark. Increased confidence— knowing how many you need to get correct to earn your goal score, and improved timing, knowing how to pace yourself—were the two biggest sets of feedback our students shared from the benefits of the boot camp.”

Ryan King, Principal of Western Hills High Schools
  • 'A Return on Investment That Any School Would Want'

MasteryPrep offers Boot Camps for the ACT, SAT®, WorkKeys, end-of-course assessments, and the TSIA2. Districts and schools can purchase a one-day Boot Camp for the ACT (6-hour in-person or 4-hour virtual) led by a MasteryPrep instructor who teaches pacing and time management, test-taking techniques and strategies, and reviews the most highly tested content in English, Math, Reading, and Science. All students receive a workbook to practice in during and following the Boot Camp.

“We encouraged our teachers to attend the boot camp throughout the day, and they were very impressed by the content, presentation, and level of engagement,” King says. “When you can engage 70 students for that long in one day, keep their attention, and get those results, it’s a return on investment that any school would want.”

MasteryPrep instructor Wes Sebree delivered the Boot Camp for Western Hills High and received the following feedback from students:
“My experience with Wes Sebree was engaging and amazing! I learned a lot of great strategies that I plan on using when I take the test.”
"This was very helpful in learning how to maximize your time and learn techniques.”
"I truly feel more confident in my testing abilities after this session.”
“Wes Sebree taught me test taking strategies that I will actually use during the test!”

The success of the Boot Camp has prompted King to not only re-order the Boot Camp for 2024 but also invest in MasteryPrep’s Professional Development resource “Decoding: A Teacher’s Guide to Prep for the ACT” that will be delivered this summer to 12 teachers. The professional development course provides teachers with strategies for incorporating test-taking skills into their everyday core curriculum motivating students to succeed on the ACT and in academics.

“Our teachers want to implement ACT strategies into their courses, into our Den classes which are our flex time periods, and make ACT prep an important and sustainable part of our academic culture,” King says.

*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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MasteryPrep Online and In-Person Boot Camps are strategy-focused workshops that give students the final push they need to score college-ready on the ACT.
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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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