The Princeton Review
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| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NASDAQ: REVU |
| Industry | Education |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder(s) | John Katzman |
| Headquarters | Framingham, Massachusetts[1] |
| Key people | John M. Connolly, Interim CEO[2] |
| Revenue | US$ 214.4 million (2010)[3] |
| Divisions | College, Business School, Law School, Grad School, Med School |
| Website | http://www.princetonreview.com/ |
The Princeton Review (TPR) is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operates in 41 states and 22 countries across the globe. It offers test preparation for standardized aptitude tests such as the SAT and advice regarding college admissions, and publishes books with Random House. Approximately 70% of the company's revenue comes from test preparation.[4] The company was founded in 1981 by John Katzman, after graduating from Princeton University, and was originally based in New York City. It now also owns Penn Foster College a distance education institution offer trade skill certificates and undergraduate college degrees. It moved to and is now based in Framingham, Massachusetts[5] in 2008/2009 coinciding with John Katzman's stepping down as CEO in September 2008 after a six-month sabbatical.[6]
John Katzman was replaced with Michael Perik as CEO.
On March 9, 2011, Michael Perik resigned as CEO of Princeton Review, and the company announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2010. These figures demonstrated losses from continuing operations that totaled $50.4 million, compared to $13.9 million in losses for 2009. Following these announcements, the price of the company’s stock lost 37.80% of its value, to close at $0.51 on March 10, 2011. This decline would continue, with shares of Princeton Review stock declining an additional 23.53% to close at just $0.39 per share on March 11, 2011. In 2011, the company had lost 90% of its market value. The company is not affiliated with Princeton University or the Educational Testing Service.
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[edit] Test preparation
The Princeton Review offers test preparation courses for various tests:[7][8]
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The company offers courses world-wide through company-owned and third-party franchises. Countries with Princeton Review franchises include China, India, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.[9]
The Princeton Review offers both private tutoring and classroom courses. Most courses and tutoring guarantee an improvement in scores.[10]
[edit] College admissions
The Princeton Review Bookstore[11] publishes various guides to colleges, including The Best 373 Colleges, the Complete Book of Colleges, the Parents' Guide to College Life, College Essays That Make a Difference, Guide to College Majors, and Guide to Colleges For Students With Learning Disabilities. It also publishes test preparation books for various exams.
The Princeton Review website provides free advice and tools for college admissions.[12] It also provides the rankings from The Best 371 Colleges, including "Top 20" lists in categories such as "Professors Get High Marks," "Happiest Students," "Party Schools," and "Dorms Like Dungeons."[13]
The admissions division also offers services to high school guidance departments[14] and colleges.[15]
[edit] Criticisms
[edit] Score increase claims
Test preparation providers, including the Princeton Review, have been criticized in the past on the grounds that their courses claim larger score increases than they deliver.[16]
[edit] College rankings
College rankings, including those published by the Princeton Review, have been criticized by educators and commentators for failing to be accurate or comprehensive by assigning objective rankings formed from subjective opinions.[17] The Princeton Review officials counter that their rankings are unique in that they rely on student opinion and not just on statistical data[citation needed].
The American Medical Association has criticized the Princeton Review list of Best Party Schools and requested that the list be discontinued.[18] The rankings for LGBT-related lists have also been criticized as inaccurate due to outdated methodologies.[19]
[edit] August 2008 data exposure
In August 2008, The New York Times reported that a flaw in the company's website exposed data from about 34,000 Sarasota, Florida students to the web, including FCAT test scores.[20] In addition, names and birthdates of 74,000 Fairfax County, Virginia students were exposed, as well as some documents regarding Princeton Review's internal procedures.[21]
[edit] References
- ^ "Princeton Review completes Penn Foster acquisition". The Boston Globe. 8 December 2009. http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/12/princeton_revie_3.html.
- ^ "The Princeton Review, Inc. - Management". http://ir.princetonreview.com/management.cfm. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
- ^ http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:REVU&fstype=ii
- ^ Third Quarter Earnings
- ^ "Princeton Review completes Penn Foster acquisition". The Boston Globe. 8 December 2009. http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2009/12/princeton_revie_3.html.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Test preparation at the Princeton Review website
- ^ More tests at the Princeton Review website
- ^ International Offices of The Princeton Review at the Princeton Review website
- ^ Our guarantee at the Princeton Review website
- ^ Princeton Review college bookstore
- ^ Colleges and careers at the Princeton Review website
- ^ Best 373 Colleges rankings at the Princeton Review website
- ^ Guidance support & test preparation at the Princeton Review website
- ^ Admissions center at the Princeton Review website
- ^ John Hechinger. "SAT Coaching Found to Boost Scores -- Barely", The Wall Street Journal, 20 May 2009.
- ^ Valerie Strauss. "U.S. News’s College Rankings Face Competition and Criticism", The Washington Post, 17 August 2008.
- ^ End of Top Party School's Ranking?. The Early Show. CBS News. August 27, 2002. Retrieved on October 30, 2009.
- ^ Shane Windmeyer. "Princeton Review’s Approach IS Outdated", The Advocate, 13 August 2009.
- ^ Stone, Brad. "Student Files Are Exposed on Web Site", The New York Times, 19 August 2008.
- ^ Michael Chandler. "Students' Personal Data Posted Online", The Washington Post, 21 August 2008.
[edit] External links
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