Stanley Kaplan: Father of Test Prep Dies At 90

by candice.tsuei | August 24, 2009 at 03:56 pm

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Stanley Kaplan, the founder of the Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Centers Ltd., and widely recognized as the father of the test-preparation industry, died Sunday, August 23 of heart failure at the age of 90.

Kaplan founded Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Centers Ltd., now simply called Kaplan Inc., in 1938 in his parents' Brooklyn, New York home. Having a chain of over 100 centers nationally, the for-profit education company was the first and largest business of its kind, providing test preparation classes and high-education programs to over 95,000 students.

Kaplan Inc. was sold to the Washington Post Co. (WPO) in 1984. At the time, annual revenue was about $35 million. Last year it rose 15% to $2.33 billion and supported the media company as it deals with an ongoing advertising slump. Kaplan and members of his family remained in charge of the business after the sale, and the patriarch retired in 1994.

According to a statement issued on the passing of Kaplan:

Stanley’s vision paved the way for greater transparency in college admissions. He helped remove barriers to higher education for thousands of students. His ardent belief that every student deserves an opportunity to succeed underlies our company’s educational mission and informs each of our businesses from test prep to higher education to professional training and K12 instruction.

Kaplan is survived by his wife, Rita, and daughters Susan B. Kaplan and Nancy Kaplan Belsky.