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As Colleges Report More Applicants Submitting ACTⓇ Scores, ACT, Inc. and Kaplan Test Prep Launch ACTⓇ Kaplan Online Prep Live to Make Best-in-Class Live Teaching Accessible to All Students

GHC | September 26, 2016

As Colleges Report More Applicants Submitting ACTⓇ Scores, ACT, Inc. and Kaplan Test Prep Launch ACTⓇ Kaplan Online Prep Live to Make Best-in-Class Live Teaching Accessible to All Students

Introduction of Live, Interactive Program Supports Growing Popularity of the ACT: Survey Finds 49% of Colleges Report More Applicants Submitting ACT Scores than in Prior Years

Results from Kaplan’s 12th annual survey of admissions officers from the nation’s top colleges and universities across the United States show that nearly half (49%) report more applicants submitting ACT scores compared to previous years, with 63% of this subset reporting the increase as “significant.”* In the face of the test’s growing popularity, ACT, Inc., maker of the ACT® test, and Kaplan Test Prep, the world leader in test preparation, today launched ACT® Kaplan Online Prep Live -- a groundbreaking ACT preparation program offering live instruction, with the ability for students to interact with master teachers and have their questions answered in real time. This new program is designed to bolster the learning that takes place every day in the classroom, which is essential to college and career readiness and to preparing for the ACT.

The program is provided for free to low-income students who register for the ACT with a fee waiver and available to other students for $179 -- a significantly lower cost than traditional prep programs. The product will also include recorded sessions that students can access on demand at any time, and on any device.

A survey of 2,500+ Kaplan students shows that students value live instruction for its immediacy, engagement, and personalization. Informed by feedback and results from multiple student pilots, ACT® Kaplan Online Prep Livewill be the only program to combine:

Official study resources and assessments from ACT that help students focus on the academic skills that are important for success in college and career
Access to Kaplan Test Prep’s master instructors, available for questions and help
Real full-length ACT tests and real practice questions from official ACT tests
Live sessions and on demand videos available on any device students choose, from desktop to laptop to mobile
A social community of teachers and peers to offer answers, support and encouragement outside of classroom hours
Essay grading technology to score students’ Writing Test submissions

The program combines Kaplan’s unparalleled expertise in test preparation, learning science, digital learning and live instruction with ACT’s extensive research and experience in measuring college and career readiness. For more information on ACT Kaplan Online Prep Live, go to www.act.org/onlinepreplive.

All four-year colleges and universities across the country accept the ACT test, which was taken by nearly 2.1 million 2016 high school graduates -- a record 64 percent of the U.S. graduating class -- making it the most widely taken college admissions exam in the nation. For the 2014-2015 academic year, ACT provided ACT test fee waivers valued at $34.4 million to more than 700,000 low-income students.

“We know that great teaching is critical to improving student outcomes in school and beyond, and we want to make sure that all students have access to quality learning opportunities,” said Suzana Delanghe, chief commercial officer for ACT. “This ground-breaking program will help students master the skills and knowledge they need not only to perform their best on the ACT, but also to succeed in college and career.”

“Our college admissions officers survey results support a trend we’ve been seeing in recent years, which is that more students are taking the ACT. Separately, our research shows that students value the immediacy, engagement and personalization of live instruction over static, one-dimensional videos. We wanted to deliver this type of teaching to ACT takers in a way that makes the best preparation available at the lowest cost possible,” said Lee Weiss, vice president of college admissions programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “We couldn’t be more pleased to deliver a truly world-class program that makes our best instructors accessible to all students.”

Kaplan is the exclusive, official partner for live, online prep for the ACT test.

ACT® is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc.

*For the 2016 survey, admissions officers from 374 of the nation’s top national, regional and liberal arts colleges and universities – as compiled by U.S. News & World Report — were polled by telephone between July and August 2016.

About ACT, Inc.

ACT is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa, ACT is the nation’s leader in college and career readiness, providing high-quality achievement assessments grounded in more than 50 years of research and experience. ACT offers a uniquely integrated set of solutions that empower individuals with insights to succeed from elementary school through career. To learn more about ACT, go to www.act.org.

About Kaplan Test Prep

Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital products, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 100 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys, physicians and nurses. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC)