Test-prep

Business is booming, but is it fair?

Last update: November 13, 2006 - 10:35 AM

The belief that a higher ACT or SAT score will better the chances of admission to a good college drives a multi-million dollar business of coaching books, flashcards, DVDs, tutors and classes.

Amazon.com's website lists dozens of books on the ACT alone. Flashcards for both tests are readily available, generally for between $30 and $70. DVDs of motivational speakers claim they will help students psychologically prepare. Firms such as Kaplan Test Prep and Admission and The Princeton Review offer classes to prepare students for the tests.

At Kaplan's building in St. Paul, a 17-session class on the SAT costs $899. Private tutoring on the ACT for 32 hours is $3,399.

Though some firms offer financial aid, the price even of test-prep books is beyond the reach of some, raising issues of equity. Mike Holbach, a counselor at Edina High School, believes that about half of the students in his school get some kind of pre-test help.

"Ethically, it really bothers me because I see kids here who have parents who can afford it," he said. "They have the edge over kids at Minneapolis North [high school] who can't. But I'm not going to condemn a parent who wants to give their kid a leg up."

Just how much money the field yields is evident at Kaplan, the world's largest test-prep firm. Test-prep represents about 25 percent of Kaplan's overall business. Last year, the company as a whole had $1.4 billion in revenue, up from $89 million in 1995.

In Minnesota, about 500 students take the firm's pre-college courses each year, said Brad Scibak, Kaplan's regional director in St. Paul.

On a steamy Sunday in July, Kaplan's building on University Avenue in St. Paul was jammed with students. In Kristin Anderson's SAT class, nine students sat with pencils ready. Four were Asian-American, three were white, one was Somali and one girl was covered from head to toe in a full burqa.

The next 2½ hours were filled with tips: If you have no clue, skip the question, Anderson told them. But if you can eliminate one choice, it's better to try to answer. The students practiced strategies for reading passages and learned how to take apart and solve equations.

"This tests your ability to think," Anderson told them. "We can help you figure out how the test works, but you can't cram for it."

Mai Wong, a junior at Andover High School, said she took the class because it helped a friend boost her SAT score by 400 points. While she didn't think her score would guarantee admission to an elite college, "it's a way to get ahead."

Kaplan guarantees the class will pay off in improved scores, within guidelines. Scibak said that while student numbers haven't changed dramatically in recent years, intensity has. More students are taking courses to help them get into an elite college.

MARY JANE SMETANKA

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