LAS VEGAS -- A Las Vegas Valley high school wanted to boost low test scores, and they may have found the key to doing it: Food.

On Friday night, Cheyenne High School held an algebra tailgate party before the football game.

This is a problem many schools have after the summer months. Students come back, and they forget what they've already learned. The teachers can't move forward with their lesson plans, but they don't have time to re-teach.

Cheyenne is trying something a little different. The Cheyenne High School quad was turned into tailgate headquarters to help students refresh their algebra skills.

“Every year, we test our freshman to see what kind of skills they have so we know where to start,” said Cheyenne H.S. Dean, Gerry Born. “(It's) not surprising, (but) we found some deficits we need to clean up, and so we're hitting it hard right now.”

To get the students reacquainted with integers and fractions, 20 teachers volunteered to stay after school and set up six stations teaching different aspects of algebra.

“We teach because we love what we're doing. No, I don't mind staying behind at all if I know this will help the kids be successful,” said math teacher Frank Lassus.

Freshman Sierra Shim said this is needed.

“Yeah, it was good for refreshing, and I learned some of the order of operations with fractions. I didn't even know about that,” Shim said.

More than 300 students showed up, and after getting their cards stamped, they got to eat hot dogs.

The grilling even lured the girl’s tennis team from Eldorado High School inside.

Though many students from Cheyenne didn't pass the math section of the school proficiency test, the event laid the groundwork to help teachers fix that.

School officials said it took about a week for the tailgate party to come together, and it cost about $400.