Jumpstart Test Prep Launches First-Ever, State-Sponsored ACT® Math Review Pilot Program for 15 Mississippi High Schools

BROOKHAVEN, Miss., Oct. 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jumpstart Test Prep today announced the selection of 15 Mississippi high schools to begin the first-ever, state-sponsored ACT^® (American College Testing) Math review preparation for their juniors preparing for the state-administered February 2019 ACT^® test. The prep classes begin at all selected Mississippi high schools Oct. 29, 2018. The pilot program is made possible through a $100,000 allocation from the Mississippi Legislature that empowers 1,700 juniors during the 2018-19 pilot year.

Working in conjunction with the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), through the Office of Secondary Education, the goal of the pilot program is to help selected high schools improve ACT composite math sub-score averages.

During the 2017-2018 school year, the Jumpstart Test Prep Complete ACT Math Review program was implemented by several school districts and high schools around the state, and field studies were conducted to gauge student math improvement using ACT pretest or prior ACT results. These studies indicated most students demonstrate ACT math composite sub-score improvement after completing the review course, with the average improvement for groups ranging from one to three points.

The pilot schools include:

"Based on our research, 12 of the 15 selected schools had underperformed the state ACT math average in 2018 and this is a great opportunity to help raise scores. We believe that in order to be fully prepared, all students need a complete review of the content they will see on the ACT^®, along with all the tips, test-taking strategies and realistic question practice that we provide," said Sha Walker, co-founder and CEO of Jumpstart Test Prep. "Most of us are visual learners. Our review is a highly visual product designed to capture the students' attention and combined with our workbook allows students to actively participate as they watch our online video review."

Jumpstart Test Prep's unique preparation approach helps students of all ability levels stay fully engaged and gain the most improvement in the shortest time by explaining difficult content in a way that every student can follow and understand. The company has constructed a program based on 40 years of work by legendary educator and tutor Dot McClendon. Its consistent quality, prestige and innovation is a culmination of her lifetime experience.

"It is an honor to be able to pass along the coaching and tools needed for success to these Mississippi high school students," said McClendon. "Opening the door to higher learning for students who may never have been accepted or able to afford college on their own feels very rewarding in itself."

The company has found when students are coached the right way, they can quickly secure a significant gain somewhere between five to 15 questions they would not have gotten otherwise.

Walker and McClendon cite the top three competitive distinctions of Jumpstart Test Prep:

1. Proven exam prep expertise honed over a lifetime of successful results. The content review is delivered on-demand. It is highly visual, highly animated and students respond to the ACT^®-style practice questions.
2. Engaging, not boring. Presented by a group of fun, young, diverse people and presented in short 30-minute segments. Students must actively engage as they follow along in their workbook to complete the blanks and work ACT^®-style practice problems as the online review progresses.
3. Improved time management. Jumpstart Test Prep reviews content step by step, then shows how to apply that content with follow-up examples. We follow with challenge questions, allowing a one-minute countdown. Time is critical on the ACT^® and by the end of our review, Jumpstart Test Prep students know how long a minute is and what to do when they realize they are burning the clock.

All juniors in each pilot school site will have access to the following resources as a result of the funding allocation awarded by the Mississippi Legislature beginning Oct. 29, 2018:

• Expert content review and practice, along with test-taking tips and strategies delivered in the classroom via streaming video
• Online, on-demand, 13-hour review (20 modules, approximately 35 minutes each) of math content tested by the ACT® that can be led from the classroom or used individually by students through May 2019
• Consumable student workbooks (337 pages) to be completed as lecture content is watched and later used as a student study guide
• Administrator dashboard reflecting the video module completion progress of teachers assigned to proctor the review and/or individual student progress
• On-demand support

The ACT^® was first introduced in 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist, a University of Iowa professor, as an alternative to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT^®). The test, in its current form, is currently administered by ACT^®, a nonprofit of the same name. The ACT has seen a gradual increase in the number of test takers since its inception and in 2011, the ACT^® surpassed the SAT^® for the first time in total test takers; that year, 1,666,017 students took the ACT^® and 1,664,479 students took the SAT^®.

About Jumpstart Test Prep

Jumpstart Test Prep (www.jumpstarttestprep.com) is a leading provider of educational services for individuals and schools. Established in 2015, Jumpstart Test Prep is a strong leader in the test prep industry.

Jumpstart's streaming video modules are delivered on-demand and are designed for classroom integration or individual study. Jumpstart's methodology is proven to help students of all ability levels stay fully engaged and gain the most score improvement in the shortest time by explaining difficult content in a way that every student can follow and understand. Each module reviews the must-know content, and includes testing strategies specific to the exam, and concludes with realistic question practice.

Jumpstart Test Prep currently provides exam preparation for the ACT^®, GED^®, HiSet^®, TASC^®, Praxis^® Core and ACT WorkKeys^®.

For more information on Jumpstart Test Prep, please visit https://www.jumpstarttestprep.com/ and visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/jumpstarttestprep/reviews/.

ACT^® and ACT WorkKeys^® are registered trademarks of ACT Inc.

GED^® is a registered trademark of American Council on Education Corp.

HiSet^® and Praxis^® are registered trademarks of Educational Testing Service.

TASC^® Test Assessing Secondary Completion is the registered trademark of Data Recognition Corp.

Jumpstart Test Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies.

Media Contact: Robert Cadogan / [email protected] / 833-835-8329

SOURCE Jumpstart Test Prep

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