Industry Leader Kaplan Launches Online TOEFL Skills Assessment Introduction to the TOEFL Accessible Worldwide

Kaplan, Inc., a leading education and career

services company, today launched TOEFL Skills Assessment, an entirely

online introduction to the Test of English as a Foreign Language

(TOEFL). Accessible at Kaplan’s test preparation and admissions Web

site www.kaptest.com, the TOEFL Skills Assessment expands access to

the hundreds of thousands of international students applying to

American universities and professional schools.

“Our new online TOEFL Skills Assessment is a targeted, convenient,

low-price product that enables students to find out where they stand

on the TOEFL,” said Leigh-Ellen Louie, President of Kaplan

International Programs. “The program measures the same skills as the

TOEFL, giving students an introduction to the test, customized

feedback on their performance and an approximation of their English

proficiency level.”

Students first log onto the assessment portion, which consists of 75

questions including listening comprehension, structure and reading

comprehension. After completing the assessment, students receive

targeted instructional feedback on TOEFL question types and

test-taking strategies as well as diagnostic feedback on the students’

own test-taking strengths and weaknesses. The TOEFL Skills Assessment

is priced at $20 and students can work through the program in three to

four hours.

“Kaplan has been a leader in establishing the Internet as an effective

mode of educational delivery,” said Sharon Miller, Vice President and

General Manager of Kaplan Test Prep Online. “Through kaptest.com,

students worldwide can take advantage of the convenience and

flexibility of the Internet, receiving Kaplan’s hallmark assessment

and instruction regardless of their proximity to a Kaplan center.”

More than half a million international students studied in the United

States this year, an increase of 4.8% over last year’s total,

according to the Institute of International Education. This number is

expected to grow as the prestige of American degrees and the need for

English language skills increase. Approximately 600,000 people take

the TOEFL every year worldwide.

Kaplan’s online TOEFL Skills Assessment product adds to Kaplan’s range

of TOEFL preparation programs. Through Kaplan’s international

centers, students can access Kaplan’s English for TOEFL and University

Preparation, which focuses on the academic English language skills

needed for the TOEFL as well as the skills needed to gain admission to

and succeed in an American college or university.

Kaplan’s international unit operates throughout the U.S. and abroad.

In the U.S., Kaplan offers programs at eleven centers located on

college campuses and in major metropolitan areas. Kaplan

International is expanding rapidly overseas, currently operating 37

centers in 15 countries spanning Asia, Europe, Latin America and the

Middle East, mainly through local licensees.

Kaplan’s International Programs unit offers students and professionals

a full range of programs including intensive English instruction, test

preparation, university preparation and professional English training.

Kaplan International also provides services to government and

corporate sponsors including placement at top American universities,

fellowship management, academic monitoring and reporting and financial

administration. International students and professionals either travel

to Kaplan International’s own eleven U.S. centers or enroll in one of

Kaplan’s licensed centers abroad.

About Kaplan

Kaplan, Inc. is a premier provider of educational and

career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Kaplan

offers test prep and admissions services (www.kaptest.com); K-12

educational programs for kids and parents through SCORE! Learning,

Inc. and eSCORE.com; on-site education and professional development at

schools and universities; books and software; continuing education and

licensing services for individuals and corporations through Kaplan

Professional (www.kaplanprofessional.com); and an extensive array of

bachelor and associate degrees, certificate and diploma programs

through The Kaplan Colleges group of institutions at

(www.KaplanCollege.com), which includes Concord University School of

Law, the nation’s only online law school (www.concordlawschool.com).

Kaplan, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Washington Post

Company (NYSE: WPO).

Press Contact:

Katherine Engstrom

212-974-2769

k_engstrom@kaplan.com

Kaplan is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company