Kaplan initiated its investigation after hearing anecdotal evidence that students were sharing information about the test. In May, Kaplan had voiced concerns about the test's vulnerability at a hearing before the New York State Standing Committee on Higher Education. Kaplan's investigation showed that a small pool of questions is used on the test for an extended period of time, making it too easy for students to share information with future test-takers.
Kaplan president and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Grayer explained that Kaplan has no intention of sharing the test contents with GRE-takers. Kaplan's copy of the test was given to ETS, and the only duplicate lies in a vault in the offices of Price Waterhouse.
"Security is of utmost importance to students and educators," said Grayer. "Our goal was to learn about the computer GRE and ensure its fairness." Grayer first spoke with ETS president Nancy Cole on Friday, December 9th, when he communicated Kaplan's findings and articulated his concerns.
"We have worked closely with ETS over the past week to outline the dimensions of the problem," said Grayer. "We are encouraged that they are giving serious attention to this grave issue."
Grayer added that the short-term solutions implemented by ETS will have to be evaluated. "It will be incumbent upon ETS to demonstrate that they have solved the problem. We are concerned that new technology , such as e-mail and electronic bulletin boards, make it easy to share information broadly."
Kaplan is the nation's leading test preparation company and one of the largest educational companies in the country, offering courses, books, videos, on-line services and digital products. With 150 centers and classroom sites throughout the U.S. and abroad, Kaplan prepares more than 150,000 students annually for college and graduate admissions exams, as well as professional licensing and language exams. Kaplan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company, which also owns Newsweek magazine.