Standardized test prep in the cloud

Until very recently, there were only two ways to study for the SATs; You either had to buy multiple test booklets and spend a couple of hours a night reading through them or spend thousands of dollars on a personal tutor. The same is true in preparing for the GMATs and LSATs. And studying for the Bar Exam, something I can only imagine to be 1000x more difficult and stressful, takes years of preparation.

With new educational platforms such as Knewton and 2tor and popular $999.99 iPhone apps like BarBri and BarMax, there is now a whole new medium through which people can study for these life-changing tests.

The US Department of Education just published a report in the New York Times stating that “on average, student in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction”. For k-12, this is not true, but for higher ed and standardized testing, online learning is becoming more popular by the semester.

Knewton’s platform is one of the best educational platforms I have come across in my role at OpenView Venture Partners. Once registering, Knewton keeps track of everything you do, which questions you do well on, which areas you need to learn, how you learn best (video, online classroom, case studies, multiple choice questions, etc.), how long you can study without getting bored, and even what times of day you learn and retain the most information. These online education platforms are also green, making them even more appealing.

Many of these companies are also looking for a venture capital investment to help fund their business growth strategies and operational support. This fact, along with the national push for improving education, the education bills being passed, and many unemployed Americans looking to re-train themselves in new fields, I believe that educational platforms are a hot space to invest!