John Katzman

John Katzman is an education entrepreneur. He is the founder of Noodle Education, a website that provides data and advice to connect students with schools, college, programs, resources, experts and more.

Career

The Princeton Review

Katzman is best known as the founder of The Princeton Review, which initially taught SAT preparation to high-school students in New York City. He started the company in 1981, then partnered with Adam Robinson to develop it, and served as the company’s CEO until 2007. By then, the company helped half of the students applying to U.S. colleges and universities each year find, get into, and pay for school.

Katzman has authored and coauthored a number of books for The Princeton Review, including Cracking the SAT, a New York Times bestseller, and created products and services in several media. In 1996, the company’s Inside the SAT CD ROM won the SIIA’s Codie Award for Best Education Program for Secondary/Post Secondary. Its cable program, SATV, was a finalist for an ACE award.

2U

In 2008, Katzman founded 2U, an educational technology company that partners with leading nonprofit colleges and universities, such as the University of Southern California, Georgetown University, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to offer online degree programs. He served as the company’s CEO until January 2012. Katzman originally self-funded, then raised $60 million in venture capital over the next three years. Katzman shifted to Executive Chairman in January 2012, and left in August to help build Noodle. Like The Princeton Review, 2U became a Russell 2000 company.

Noodle

In 2010, Katzman created and began funding Noodle; he joined the company full-time in August 2012, and took over as CEO that December.

Other

Katzman has been deeply involved in the founding of several other education companies, including Tutor.com and Student Advantage. He is an angel investor in several education technology ventures, and serves on the boards or advisory boards of several others including NAIS, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and Renaissance Learning.

Issue Advocacy

Despite being the founder of a successful business based on preparing for a wide range of standardized tests, Katzman is an outspoken critic of the modern preoccupation with standardized testing, and has argued that many tests are no better indicator of achievement in the relevant fields than grades and scores on other tests (such as the Advanced Placement exams) that students already complete. He is often invited to speak on topics related to education and the measurement of academic achievement.[1] He has also been outspoken in his opposition to the Common Core, and about demanding better outcomes from for-profit education providers.

Selected Writing and Speaking

Personal

Katzman is married with two children.

References

  1. ↑ Katzman, John. "The Underachieving Education Business". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  2. ↑ Katzman, John (1995). Class Action: How to Create Accountability, Innovation, and Excellence in American Schools. Villard Books. ISBN 0679434305.
  3. ↑ Katzman, John. "I taught America to beat the SAT. That's how I know it's useless.". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Katzman, John. "Relax. Getting Into College Has Actually Gotten Easier.". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Katzman, John. "Technology and Just-in-Time Learning". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Katzman, John. "A Better SAT Starts with a Better College Board". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Katzman, John. "Putting the Schools in Charge". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Katzman, John. "Hacking College Admissions". Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  9. ↑ Katzman, John. "Would Shakespeare Get Into Swarthmore?".

External links