<p>This thread has probably been made a million times - I know. Is it just this bias we have when we see Kaplan-brand books or do they truly suck?</p>
<p>I can’t say that every Kaplan class is like this, but it was ABSOLUTELY terrible for my son. They met from 6:30 - to - 9:30pm every Tuesday, and my son admitted later that he couldn’t stay awake. Yet, there were only 5 kids in the class! The problem was that the “teacher” just lectured from some book, rather than actually gear the lessons to where the kids needed it most, or give little anecdotes. </p>
<p>My guess is that the teachers have to follow some script. The teachers were not motivating. Nor did they encourage the students to use all the resources you pay for (like the homework and practice tests). My son didn’t even know how to use their system until I showed him, about 3/4 through.</p>
<p>By contrast, he took another prep class that was totally geared to his weaknesses, he switched classes/teachers when they switched to English/Math. They used lots of motivating tactics ($$$) if you score a certain level in a vocab test, taken separately. His teachers emailed him during the week and offered extra study sessions, especially just before the test. Kaplan did none of that.</p>
<p>I have used kaplan, and for the SAT 1 it really is horrible. However, I’ve seen that kaplan is GREAT for many of the subject tests. Kind of weird, but that’s what I’ve seen personally.</p>
<p>One of my teachers lent me a package of Kaplan CDs for the SAT I and subject tests. I ended up only using the SAT I ones, but they were pretty terrible. Most of the test-taking tips were common sense, and the math flashcard game was buggy. I used it once and never touched it again.</p>