Kaplan, Inc. Named By Ziff Davis SMART BUSINESS As One Of The Top 50 Companies To Successfully Use The Internet To Grow Their Business

Business Wire, August 8, 2001

Business & Education Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2001

Kaplan, Inc. (www.kaplan.com), has been named by Ziff Davis SMART BUSINESS magazine as one of the top 50 U.S. companies that have successfully used the Internet to expand and enhance their business.

The Smart Business 50 appears in the September 2001 issue of Ziff Davis SMART BUSINESS, which is on newsstands Aug. 14 and online now at www.smartbusinessmag.com. Kaplan is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO) and a leading provider of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses.

The Smart Business 50, which includes public and private companies, is based on nearly a year of research by Ziff Davis SMART BUSINESS editors and writers. In forming the list, the editors considered the Internet's contribution to companies in such areas as sales growth and profitability, cost savings, expansion into new business areas, effectiveness in heading off competitors, faster delivery of products, improved market share and brand recognition, as well as boosting of customer and employee satisfaction.

"The internet has become an integral part of our business," said Jonathan Grayer, Kaplan president and CEO. "We have used the web to enhance our services to customers, streamline our business operations, and introduce new offerings for customers who cannot access bricks and mortar educational programs."

Ranked 19 in the list, Kaplan, Inc. is noted for its growth from a $94 million company five years ago to a projected $500 million in 2001, due in part by the company's expansions in online education and training. Several of Kaplan's online businesses are highlighted in the SMART BUSINESS profile, including Kaptest.com, the leading online test-prep provider; Kaplan Professional, with online offerings in securities and insurance training, compliance management for financial services firms, and a virtual campus for real estate educators (REcampus.com); eScore.com for parents of children in grades K-10; and The Kaplan Colleges, noted for offering online bachelor's degree programs and for its Concord Law School, the nation's only entirely online law school currently serving more than 700 students.

"In today's networked economy, using the Internet as a communication medium is only the first step," said Wendy Taylor, editor of Ziff Davis SMART BUSINESS. "The companies in this year's Smart Business 50 have successfully integrated technology into their business to deliver value to their customers. Kaplan has done an outstanding job of using technology and the Internet to pioneer online education."

The Smart Business 50 rankings have proven to be an industry benchmark on financial performance. A Ziff Davis SMART BUSINESS stock index that includes the public companies from last year's Smart Business 50 has not only outperformed all other Internet company stock indices, but has also outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 index, which serves as the benchmark for the overall stock market.

About Kaplan, Inc.

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 in centers and online at www.kaptest.com; after-school learning programs for kids and one-on-one tutoring for high school students through SCORE! Learning, Inc. (www.escore.com); on-site education and professional development at schools; books, software, and magazines; professional training and compliance tracking through Kaplan Professional (www.kaplanprofessional.com); bachelor and associate degrees, certificate and diploma programs via online, distance and traditional classroom-based programs through The Kaplan Colleges (www.kaplancollege.edu), which includes Concord University School of Law, the nation's first online law school, (www.concordlawschool.com), Kaplan College and The College for Professional Studies; and Quest Education, a leading provider of post-secondary education offering bachelor and associate degrees and diploma programs in schools across the U.S. (www.questeducation.com). Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

About Ziff Davis Media Inc.

Ziff Davis Media Inc. (www.ziffdavis.com) is the leading information authority for buying, using and experiencing technology and the Internet. It is the largest technology and Internet magazine publisher and the sixth largest magazine publisher in the United States. The company is also at the forefront in creating a new generation of business and consumer media that educate, entertain and empower people. In the U.S., Ziff Davis Media publishes 13 industry-leading business and consumer publications: PC Magazine, Ziff Davis SMART BUSINESS, eWEEK, Interactive Week, Smart Partner, The Net Economy, CIO Insight, Yahoo! Internet Life, Expedia Travels, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine, Computer Gaming World and Expert Gamer. Through a joint venture with International Data Group (IDG), the company also publishes Macworld. Other Ziff Davis Media business units include Ziff Davis Internet, a developer of innovative web and other interactive media including ExtremeTech (www.extremetech.com) and PCMag.com; Ziff Davis Custom Media, which provides custom and contract media solutions within the technology industry; and eTesting Labs, which provides state-of-the-art internet and technology testing. The company also produces research, conferences, seminars and Webcasts.