What we believe...

When we founded The Princeton Review, the only standardized tests that students took seriously were the exams for admissions to colleges and graduate schools. Because performance on these tests made a real difference in students' lives, they were willing to devote time and energy to making sure their scores reflected their abilities. We grew rapidly through word-of-mouth because it was widely known that The Princeton Review's courses achieved results.

The world of testing has changed a lot in the past 20 years. "High-stakes" tests (i.e. tests whose outcomes can affect your career or life) are no longer just for admissions and no longer just for students. The accountability movement, which has gained momentum over the past 10 years and was cemented into place by new federal laws, places testing at the center of K-12 education, for better and for worse. Students who perform poorly on these tests can face mandatory summer school, a repeated grade, or denial of a high school diploma. For teachers and school administrators, the pressures of those tests exert strong pressure on teaching and learning and class or school performance on those tests increasingly determines the pathways of their careers.

At the same time, admission to college and graduate school has become increasingly competitive. There are more students, and a larger percentage of them want to go to college. Universities compete harder to attract more applicants and then reject an ever-increasing number of them.

Although the worlds of school, testing, and admissions have changed, The Princeton Review continues to operate under a set of core principles:

You get what you measure. Good tests promote good education and bad tests will do damage. There's far more to testing than statistical validity.

Everyone is entitled to a college-ready education. College isn't for everyone, but there's no reason to believe that 90% of wealthy kids but only 30% of disadvantaged kids are innately college material. Those figures need to get much closer.

The college admissions process should promote great high schools. The college admissions process should encourage students and schools to do great things.