Houston High School Achieves Notable Improvements in 54% of Their Juniors' ACT® English Scores

HOUSTON, Miss., April 28, 2021 (Newswire.com) - When visiting Houston High School (HHS), one will quickly realize the commitment and devotion that the faculty invests into the lives of their students. A prime example of this investment was displayed in the recently announced ACT® exam score improvements for their junior students utilizing the Jumpstart Complete English ACT prep review to prepare for the state-administered February 2021 ACT® exam (American College Testing) — 54 percent of the students with a prior English ACT® score improved an average of +2.83 points above their best prior attempt. The program was provided by a 2020 legislative grant administered through the Mississippi Department of Education.

Alisha Spencer, an English III teacher at HHS who implemented the Jumpstart review program in her classroom, was appreciative of the resource, "I absolutely loved the Jumpstart program for our juniors because it went back to things they hadn't seen in quite some time. I feel that the different presenters and the review from years ago is what really made the difference on their ACT® English scores." As a teacher, Spencer recommended that Jumpstart Test Prep be implemented in schools across the State of Mississippi and has hopes that it will be continued at Houston High School in the coming years. Principal William Cook commented, "I appreciate the faculty who worked hard to implement this program into the students' schedules and am very proud of our students' ACT® English improvements."

Several students, who achieved outstanding improvements in the English sub-section of the ACT®, were eager to provide their thoughts about the Jumpstart review program. Jackson Laster, who saw a +5 improvement on his English score, said, "Jumpstart made a big difference because I was able to go back and review topics from earlier grades before the test. The tips and fabulous fact flashcards were great reminders and really helped me succeed." Angel Renfroe achieved a +7 improvement in the English sub-section and agreed with Laster. "The biggest help to me was reviewing things I hadn't seen in several years." Another HHS junior, Tim'mara Lee, saw a +5 improvement on her English score and a +4 improvement on her composite score. Lee added, "Jumpstart made a huge difference in my ACT® scores. I hadn't seen a lot of things since middle school and the review of older topics made all the difference for me." Gibson Cauler achieved a +4 improvement on his composite score and agreed with Lee. "The simple breakdowns of topics helped a lot. Jumpstart taught me many things I hadn't previously learned." Jonathan Fowler realized a 43 percent improvement of +6 points over his prior best English score and was the student with the highest percentile improvement out of the entire junior class at HHS. He commented, "Jumpstart helped me time myself better and not be as nervous when I took the ACT® because, after I finished the review, I knew what I was doing."

Jumpstart Test Prep is an online review program based on over 60 years of work by Dot McClendon, a legendary educator and Mississippi's 19-year STAR teacher hall-of-fame inductee. "As a teacher at The Mississippi School of the Arts and several other schools during my career, I was able to help guide the preparation of students in person," said McClendon. "Now, through our online, on-demand video review, students in HHS classrooms, as well as classrooms around the country, around the breakfast table or on the couch at home, are able to benefit from our approach."

All juniors at HHS had access to the following resources:

• Expert content review and practice, along with test-taking tips and strategies delivered in the classroom via streaming video
• Online, on-demand, five-hour review (eight modules, approximately 40 minutes each) of English content tested by the ACT® that could be led from the classroom or used individually by students
• Consumable student workbooks for each subject area to be completed in conjunction with lecture content and later used as a student study guide
• Online assessment or the English review area, which linked students back to their weaker areas reviewed in the Jumpstart module content

School administrators utilized an online dashboard reflecting the video module completion progress of teachers assigned to proctor the review and/or individual student progress.

More information about Jumpstart Test Prep can be found at www.jumpstarttestprep.com.

Source: Jumpstart Test Prep