Kaplan Test Prep
| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Education |
| Founded 📆 | 1938 |
| Founder 👔 | Stanley Kaplan |
| Headquarters 🏙️ | , |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Products 📟 | Test Preparation |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| Parent | Kaplan, Inc. |
| Divisions | Admissions (pre-College and graduate admissions prep programs), Licensure (medical and nursing licensure prep programs, bar review), Metis (data science programs) |
| 🌐 Website | Kaptest.com |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Kaplan Test Prep is the first and largest test prep company in the United States,[1] having helped millions of students prepare for standardized exams since its founding in 1938. It sells preparation materials for more than 100 standardized tests through tutoring, on-site classes, asynchronous and live programs, print books, and digital products.[2] It is one of three major units of global education company Kaplan, Inc., which also includes Kaplan Higher Education and Kaplan International.
History[edit]
Stanley Kaplan began tutoring students out of his parents’ Brooklyn home in 1938, helping them prepare for the New York State Regents Exams. In 1946, he started preparing students for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).[3] Widespread adoption of the SAT as an admissions requirement at U.S. colleges and universities in the 1950's and 1960's helped him expand his business.[4] The company branched out with graduate admissions exam prep, including for the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and Dental Admission Test (DAT).[5] Although Kaplan's claims that it could raise test scores were criticized by the educational establishment, which had claimed that tests like the SAT were "impervious to coaching,"[6] in 1979 the Federal Trade Commission found that test preparation could improve students’ scores.[7] Demonstrating that standardized tests were coachable helped undermine their use as a tool to keep certain groups of students out of elite schools.[8]
In 1985, The Washington Post Company (now Graham Holdings Company) bought the company from Stanley Kaplan.[9] In 1994, Jonathan Grayer was appointed CEO[10] and led the expansion of the company into other educational areas beyond test preparation, such as higher education[11]and English language programs,[12] forming the educational services corporation of Kaplan, Inc., now parent company of Kaplan Test Prep, in 2000.[13]
Kaplan Test Prep Today[edit]
In addition to offering preparation for various admissions exams, the company delivers preparation programs for doctors, lawyers and nurses seeking professional licensure. It is headquartered at 750 Third Avenue, New York, NY and is led by CEO John Polstein, who has been with the organization since 1992. About 85% of its 6100 employees, a majority of which are teachers and tutors, work remotely.[14]
Currently, it delivers courses throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, and London. These courses are taught at more than 70 branded locations as well as hotels, high schools and universities. The company also offers courses online, typically in a live online classroom or a self-study format, to individuals, schools, school districts and organizations. Private tutoring services are provided in person and online. Materials for some courses are licensed to third parties and affiliates, which, during 2017, delivered courses at 63 locations in 35 countries outside the U.S. The company also sells college admissions examination preparation courses and materials directly to high schools, school districts, medical schools, nursing schools and law schools.[15] Through a partnership with ACT, Inc, the maker of the ACT college admissions test, tehc ompany delivers free and low-cost live online test prep programs.[16]
In 2017, 2.1 million students used its products and services. 2017 revenue for the company was $273 million.[17]
In 2018, the company acquired the test prep, study aids, and foreign language assets of Barron’s Educational Series, a publisher.[18]
Products and Services[edit]
The company prepares students to take over 100 tests at its website, including the SAT, PSAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT, in the following categories:[19]
- College Admissions
- Graduate Admissions
- Medical Licensing
- Nursing
- Bar Review
- High School Equivalency
- High School Admissions
- Teacher Licensing
- Police Entrance Exam
- International Admissions
Kaplan Test Prep also owns Metis, a data science training provider that offers a bootcamp, part-time professional development courses, and corporate training. Metis was launched in 2014.[20]
Cultural References[edit]
“Stanley Kaplan” was the answer to a Jeopardy question “At 14, he tutored Brooklyn schoolmates for 25 cents an hour: later he founded a test prep empire” (aired November 11, 2015).[21]
In the U.S. sitcom The Office (S2 Ep 4 “The Fire”), Michael Scott notices a Kaplan Test Prep book in the back of Ryan Howard’s car and comments, “Oh, Stanley Kaplan, I know him” (aired October 11, 2005).[22]
Kaplan is occasionally part of crossword puzzle hints in The New York Times, as in “Subj. of a Kaplan prep course” (8 Down)[23] or “What some Kaplan guides help prep for” (1 Down).[24]
References[edit]
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Test-Prep Pioneer Stanley H. Kaplan Dies at 90"
- ↑ Graham Holdings Company Annual Report, 2018
- ↑ The New Yorker "Examined Life" December 17, 2001
- ↑ The New York Times "Stanley Kaplan, Teacher of Testing" September, 20 1981
- ↑ Stanley H. Kaplan, Test Pilot (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001). 66.
- ↑ The New York Times, "‘Coaching’ Findings. May Change S.A.T." June 5, 1979
- ↑ The New York Times "Stanley Kaplan, Pioneer in Preparing Students for Exams, Dies at 90"
- ↑ The New Yorker "Examined Life" December 17, 2001
- ↑ PBS Frontline, "A History of the SAT Prep Business", Retrieved on 23 February 2018.
- ↑ CNN.com "Kaplan is starting an online college -- minus the keggers" April 10, 2000
- ↑ The Washington Post "Kaplan to Buy Quest Education, Operator of Specialty Schools" June 28, 2000
- ↑ The Street "Kaplan Buys Aspect Education" October 10, 2006
- ↑ The Washington Post Company Annual Report, 2000
- ↑ Entrepreneur "Lessons Learned From 3 Companies That Have Long Embraced Remote Work" February, 12 2015
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ The Higher Education Journal "ACT and Kaplan collaborate to Make Test Prep Live, Free" April 18, 2016
- ↑ Graham Holdings Company Annual Report, 2018
- ↑ Newsday "Barron's Educational sells name, some assets to Kaplan Test Prep" September 18, 2018
- ↑ "Official website". Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- ↑ Venture Beat, "Starting in September, you can learn about data science through Kaplan", Retrieved on 16 July 2018.
- ↑ Jeopardy! Archive Show #7174, Thursday, November 19, 2015
- ↑ Springfield! Springfield! "The Office Season 2, Episode 4 script"
- ↑ August 17, 2017 New York Times Crossword Puzzle Answers
- ↑ July 8, 2018 New York Times Crossword Puzzle Answers
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