Kaplan and Simon & Schuster Publish ULTIMATE MCAS: Expert Tips To Help Boost Your Grade 10 MCAS Score
By Cynthia and Drew Johnson

New York, NY (August 21, 2000) - Without exception, the explosion of high stakes standardized tests is the single most debated education topic in decades. Students are under tremendous pressure to do well. To help high school students face the exams with confidence, Kaplan, the leader in test preparation, has published a guide to succeeding on the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) Exit Exams for the 10th grade. The book, Ultimate MCAS, will be available September 2000, just as students are heading back to school. (Kaplan and Simon & Schuster Publishing; $8.00.)

The Massachusetts tenth grade students taking the MCAS exit exam this year are the first class required to pass the exam to graduate. Given that 53% of the students who took the exam in 1999 failed the Math section, 33% failed the Science section, and 32% failed the English section, students, parents, and teachers are panicked at the prospect of repeated grades and after-school tutoring.

Ultimate MCAS offers relief by showing tenth-graders how to tackle the MCAS with confidence. Including strategies for both multiple-choice and constructed response questions, and practice challenges for each of the test content areas (Math, Science and Technology, and English Language Arts,) Kaplan's Ultimate MCAS is the perfect antidote for MCAS anxiety and the best resource for higher scores.

Ultimate MCAS includes:

An overview of the test and the objectives it covers
Valuable strategies for each section of the test
Tips for tackling even the toughest problems
Humorous explanations and illustrations designed to make important lessons memorable and to instill confidence in anxious test-takers
About the Authors:
Cynthia Brantley Johnson is the author of several educational books for young people, including Word Smart Junior and Writing Smart Junior, both of which received the prestigious Parents' Choice Gold Award in 1995, and were included in Curriculum Administrator magazine's list of "Top 100" educational products for 1996.

Drew Johnson is the author of Kidding Around Austin!, a travel activity book for children visiting Austin, Texas, and co-author of Kaplan Learning Power, a guide to improving study skills. Drew is currently an education writer and editor, creating workbook, textbook, and Web-based educational materials for students of all ages.

Cynthia and Drew Johnson are also the authors of Kaplan's Parent's Guide to the MCAS for Grade 4 (ISBN: 0-684-87087-8; price: $5.95) and Kaplan's No-Stress Guide to the 8th Grade MCAS (ISBN:0-684-87088-6; price: $8.00), as well as test titles for 5 other states.

Cynthia and Drew Johnson are AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEW to serve as experts on the Massachusetts tests, test-taking strategies, and trends in state testing.

Kaplan, Inc. (www.kaplan.com) is a premier provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. Kaplan offers test prep and admissions services (www.kaptest.com); early childhood resources and K-12 educational programs for kids and parents through SCORE! Learning, Inc. and www.eSCORE.com; on-site education and professional development at schools and universities; books and software; professional education services; and an extensive array of distance learning programs (www.KaplanCollege.com). Kaplan, Inc. is also a shareholder in BrassRing, Inc. (www.BrassRing.com), the business-to-business recruitment and hiring company that helps employers find and hire the right candidates faster. Kaplan, Inc. is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

ULTIMATE MCAS EXIT EXAMS
Expert Tips to Help Boost Your Grade 10 MCAS Score
ISBN 0-7432-0177-9
Price: $8.00; Publication date: September 2000
Press Contact: pubrel@kaplan.com, (212) 492-5965