The Princeton Review (TPR) is an American-based standardized test preparation and admissions consulting company. The Princeton Review operated 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. Approximately 70% of the company's revenue comes from
test preparation. The company was founded in 1981 by
John Katzman, after graduating from
Princeton University, and is based in
New York City. It is not affiliated with Princeton University or the
Educational Testing Service.
Test preparation
The Princeton Review offers test preparation courses for various tests:
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.
The Princeton Review offers both private tutoring and classroom courses. Most courses and tutoring guarantee an improvement in scores.
College admissions
The Princeton Review Bookstore publishes various guides to colleges, including
The Best 371 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. 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."
The admissions division also offers services to high school guidance departments and colleges.
Criticisms
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. Company officials reply that individual students can see significant improvements in test scores.
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. The Princeton Review officials counter that their rankings are unique in that they rely on student opinion and not just on statistical data.
The
American Medical Association has criticized the Princeton Review list of Best
Party Schools and requested that the list be discontinued. The rankings for
LGBT-related lists have also been criticized as inaccurate due to outdated methodologies.
Teacher Pay
Some teachers complain that teacher pay raises have been cut back. The company responds that most employees are generally satisfied with their jobs and enjoy their work, and that the Princeton Review created separate levels of tutors to document the varying experience levels and provide an opportunity for tutors to continue to receive pay raises over time based on performance.
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. 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. After being notified of the problem, the company acted immediately to shut off access to the data and conducted a review of procedures.
