Testing Industry is Booming

Forbes reports that despite, or rather, because of the economic collapse in our country, private education and testing industries are booming. The reasoning, it appears, is that parents are more worried than every about their children's future that they are willing to spend the extra money on testing seminars and educational references. One example is the test prep specialist company, Kaplan Inc. (owned by the Washington Post Company)

"The company is benefiting from economic downturn through increased demand from parents looking to grab more merit-based scholarships and financial aid for their kids through higher SAT and ACT scores."

I have nothing against companies and corporations providing educational resources per se, but I have always been weary of companies that create tests and test products that are so influential in education today. There is enough criticism that students are being taught how to take a test thanks to NCLB. But some schools are now requiring students to learn how to take the SAT and ACT directly from the test prep corporations themselves.