Natalie Flowers knows there’s not as much at stake as there was when her older sister took the Michigan Merit Exam (MME).

But the Glen Lake junior saw value in preparing for next week’s exam even if the biggest motivation to success — the potential for $4,000 through the Michigan Promise scholarship — was cut from the state budget.

She was among many Laker students to take advantage of early morning prep sessions for the MME, which will be administered statewide on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week.

“I went to all but one of the morning sessions and what I wasn’t able to get that morning, I went to the teacher who led the review,” said Flowers, daughter of Ron and Sue Flowers of Cedar.

Throughout the month of February on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and afternoons, Glen Lake teachers led optional reviews that covered test subjects. The morning sessions were from 7:15 to 8 a.m. and after-school gathering lasted from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. Teachers Megan Bartley covered chemistry and physics; Karen Richard, biology and earth sciences; Jerry Angers, algebra I and II as well as geometry; Ben Post, English; and Kris Herman, geography and science. Angers also provided tips on standardized test taking.

“We had an impressive number of students who came to the sessions to prepare for the test,” secondary Principal Kevin Kelly said of the first-time effort. “There was a lot of work going on behind the scenes to see that it happened.”

The exam, given to juniors, incorporates the American College Test (ACT), the all-important exam most colleges use to rank applicants. It is also a tool used by the district to determine the effectiveness of its instructional approaches.

The importance of the test is reflected in the school’s efforts to provide a quiet atmosphere for test takers, free from distractions. While the juniors are sitting for the exam Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, students in grades 9, 10 and 12 will not be at school. Their school day will instead begin at noon.

There will be 86 juniors taking the test next week at Suttons Bay, plus 10 other students who include foreign exchange students and others who spent their 11th grade studying abroad.

Last year, administering the test became much more complicated at Suttons Bay as the result off a power outage.

“This year, we’ll be giving the test in the old middle school wing where the electrical service is more reliable and there are classrooms available,” high school principal Raph Rittenhouse said. The standardized test will also be given to about 30 Leland students, 21 at Lake Leelanau St. Mary and 16 at Northport. MME results were used previously to determine recipients of the Michigan Promise scholarship, a 2-year scholarship totaling $4,000 discontinued last year as a result of state budget cuts.

And although the big carrot for test takers is no longer there, it is important enough for administrators to stress the importance of juniors getting a good night’s rest during this time frame and a decent breakfast each morning of testing.

For her part, Flowers is focusing on the ACT to establish a good footing on which to base college applications next year.

“I’m still hoping the Michigan Promise will be reinstated in some form. But if it isn’t, I know I’ve done the best I can on the ACT,” she said.