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The American College Testing (ACT) is a national college admissions examination designed to measure academic achievement. The ACT requires students to have a deep understanding of the context and strong problem solving skills (Allensworth, Correa, & Ponisciak, 2008). High school graduates struggle to meet the ACT benchmarks, indicating a need for focused instruction in this area.
Consistent with national ACT data, West Stokes High School has been unsuccessful in meeting the ACT benchmark.  The ACT benchmark is a composite score of 21, this is the average score of the four tested areas (ACT, 2017). For 2015-2016 school year 60% of students at West Stokes High School made a composite score of 17, below the benchmark composite score. Therefore, West Stokes High School adopted ACT Elements, ACT Mastery prep. This program seeks to improve students academic skills through online practice of grade level exercises that reinforce essential ACT college readiness standards thus improving students overall ACT composite scores (Mastery Prep, n.d.).

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ACT Elements ACT Mastery Prep Student Online App is offered through a user friendly cross platform test prep software (Mastery Prep, n.d.). Students can use on their tablet or smartphone and Teachers can access through their computers and display on SMART Boards. The online program includes, courses in English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. These courses teach students; rules in grammar, sentence structure, test taking techniques, techniques to decipher reading passages, practice reading scientific text or graphs, and practice in all 75 math skills that are assessed on the ACT (Mastery Prep, n.d.)

ACT Mastery Prep was implemented at West Stokes High School the second semester of the 2016-2017 school year.  At the onset of the program each department was given the choice to determine the way in which they would implement this program into their class routine.

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The purpose of this evaluation is to determine  if implementation of ACT Mastery is effective in improving student’s ACT composite scores. The average composite score for the state of North Carolina is 19.1 (ACT, 2017). For the 2016-2017 school year, West Stokes High School had 60% of students scoring a 17 and 92% of graduating seniors for the 2016-2017 school year attended a 2 year or 4 year institution. ACT scores are not required for acceptance to 2 year community college. Although all students are not going to attend a four year college or university, West Stokes High School goal is to prepare students to be successful on the ACT in order to have a variety of post high school academic options. College degrees are becoming more of a requirement for job positions, therefore equipping students with the tools to receive higher ACT scores increases their chances for college admissions and ensures students are academically prepared for college.

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Quantitative
- Teacher Survey
- Student Survey
- Administration Survey
- Archival Data (ACT Scores,   Student Grades)

Qualitative-
- Student Survey
- Teacher Survey
- Administration Survey
- Teacher and Student Focus Group Interviews

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1. To what extent is the program being consistently delivered and implemented by teachers daily?

2. To what extent is the program achieving intended outcomes for general education students and special education students?

3. What specific barriers (if any) existed to students participation in ACT Mastery?

4. What is the effect on ACT scores and improvement in academic skills due to program implementation?

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Primary Stakeholders -
- Stokes County School District, West Stokes High School Staff and Administrators
Secondary Stakeholders -
- West Stokes High School Students
Tertiary Stakeholders -
- North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Parents, and Community

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How to Boost Your ACT Scores in 60 Minutes

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This live ACT Mastery webinar for students was recorded on October 10th, 2013. Craig Gehring made perfect scores on both the ACT and the SAT. In this webinar, he shows students the tips most important for boosting their scores.

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A mixture of quantitative and qualitative measures will be used as a framework, guided by the key evaluation questions. Data analysis triangulation allows for a greater possibility of neutralizing the flaws of one method and strengthening the benefits of the other for better research results; the evaluator can reap the benefits on two paradigms and minimize the drawbacks of each (Hussein, 2014)
Quantitative-
-  Survey questions will provide mostly quantitative data to inform the extent to which the program is being used throughout the school. Comparing responses from teachers who implemented ACT Mastery to those teachers who did not. Supporting key evaluation question number one.
-  Analysis of archival data comparing responses of students who utilized ACT Mastery to those students who did not and further analyzing their . Supporting key evaluation question number two and four.
Qualitative-
-  Group interviews and open ended questions from survey questions will serve as qualitative data collection methods to provide information on teachers, students, and administrators perceived usefulness of the ACT Mastery Prep program. Supporting all key evaluation questions.

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West Stokes High School staff and administration as well as Stokes County School System, equally have a vested interest as primary stakeholders; they represent the audience that benefits from the findings of the report.
The purpose of the evaluation report is to make the audience aware of the evaluation methods and results. In addition, recommendations for continuing the program in the future will be shared. In an effort to inform the audience of the evaluation methods and results, meetings will be held regarding evaluation activities; to inform about the evaluation process, and to present initial and final findings. Initial findings will be reported upon all data being collected and analyzed; oral computer generated presentations will be presented at monthly meetings throughout the evaluation process; written interim report will be presented; the final findings will be reported at the conclusion of the school year after all other meetings have been held.

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- Once final report has been presented a meeting needs to be held to present findings and discuss data analysis results and implications.
- Define and set goals for the program to measure results and growth.
-Create methods to improve the program and implement changes.
-Evaluate the program frequently and consistently to ensure program is meeting goals and students are making progress.