Also: 37% of Students Would Put More Effort Into Their Coursework if Parents Were Tracking Their Performance
Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO)
Russell Schaffer, russell.schaffer@kaplan.com, 212.453.7538
Carina Wong, carina.wong@kaplan.com, 212.453.7571
New York, NY (June 2, 2010) – A new Kaplan Test Prep survey* of high school students reports that of teens who say their parents are on Facebook, a much higher percentage (56%) provide their parents with full profile access – status updates, party photos and all – than with no access at all (34%). Only 9% of teens give their parents limited access. However, 58% of teens report that their parents are not on Facebook at all – though moms are more likely to have Facebook profiles (35%) than dads (27%). In keeping with the gender differential in Facebook presence, moms are somewhat more likely to have full Facebook access to their teens’ profiles (56%) than dads (49%).
Teens’ relative comfort level with having a “full access” Facebook relationship with their parents may be due to the high degree of involvement today’s parents have in their children’s lives otherwise. According to the survey, 81% of teens report their parents are “very” or “somewhat” involved in their academic work – a fact of life that may be a motivating factor in their studies. In fact, 37% of teens reported they would have put more effort into their SAT or ACT prep courses had their parents been able to track their course progress.
“In a Facebook era, the online arena serves as a new channel for parents to keep tabs on what and how their kids are doing, and it’s notable that a sizeable percentage of today’s teens seem comfortable with that dynamic,” said Justin Serrano, Senior Vice President, Kaplan Test Prep. “But for the most part, the parent-teen online relationship is still relatively uncharted territory. What we’re seeing is that parents are increasingly expressing interest in being able to monitor their kids’ progress online, and teens are adjusting to this in different ways.”
Reflecting parent interest as well as a growing trend among school districts around the country, Kaplan’s new SAT and ACT course, debuting in June, allows parents to track their child’s attendance, progress on each assignment, and performance on every practice exam and tested topic through on-demand parent reports. Kaplan’s new course will also be the first and only test prep program to integrate into its curriculum the learning best practices of differentiated instruction (in which teachers tailor their instruction and adjust the curriculum to individual students’ needs) and blended learning (mixing different learning environments for effective reinforced learning – e.g. online and classroom). The course’s unique combination of these educational best practices and revolutionary personalization technology sets the new standard in test preparation.
For downloadable B-roll of Kaplan Test Prep students taking a practice SAT, please visit: http://wpc.0355.edgecastcdn.net/000355/marketing/press/Kaplan_SAT_Students_Taking_a_Practice_Test.mp4
*Results were based on the answers of 973 aspiring college students who took the April ACT or May SAT and prepared for the exams with Kaplan Test Prep.
About Kaplan Test Prep
Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com), a division of Kaplan, Inc., 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 and a complete array of books, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests, including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate school, as well as professional licensing exams. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and graduate admissions consulting services.
# # #