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John Katzman (born October 10, 1959) is an American
EdTech Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech", ...
pioneer. He founded and ran
Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
, which assists students with their studies and career choices, and then founded and ran 2U and Noodle Partners, both of which use are tech-enabled service providers to universities. Katzman has also authored books on those subjects.


Early life

Katzman was born in New York City in 1959, and grew up there with brother Richard, and sister, Julie. Katzman went to Birch Wathen, a small independent school, from kindergarten through high school. He attended
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
, where he majored in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) and then switched to the school of Architecture. He started tutoring in sophomore year to pay his expenses, and continued through college. Katzman graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. in architecture in 1981 after completing a senior thesis titled "The Dead Tree Gives No Shelter."


Career

The Princeton Review (1981-2007) Katzman was the co-founder of
The Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4, ...
, which initially taught SAT preparation to high-school students in New York City. He started the company in 1981 shortly after leaving college, then partnered with Adam Robinson to develop it, and served as the company’s CEO until 2007. He authored and coauthored a number of books for the company, including ''Cracking the SAT'', a New York Times bestseller, and created products and services in several media. 2U (2008-2012) In 2008, Katzman founded 2U, an educational technology company that partners with leading nonprofit colleges and universities, such as the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
,
Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...
, and
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
to offer online degree programs. He served as the company’s CEO until January 2012. 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 The Russell 2000 Index is a small-cap U.S. stock market index that makes up the smallest 2,000 stocks in the Russell Index. It was started by the Frank Russell Company in 1984. The index is maintained by FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the L ...
company. Noodle (2010–present) In 2010, Katzman created The Noodle Companies, a studio with multiple subsidiary, Noodle-branded education companies. In 2016, he changed the focus of Noodle Partners, and became its full time CEO. Founded as an
online program manager Online enrollments in higher education have grown substantially, especially after the global shutdown. Convenience and flexibility is not the only explanation for this rapid growth. Universities, facing budget shortfalls, have turned to Online Pro ...
, Noodle Partners has evolved into a full-service strategy, marketing, and technical services provider to higher education. As of October 2023, it reported working with over 65 public and private universities and has raised over $110 million through three rounds of financing.


Other interests

Katzman has been involved in the founding of several other education companies, including
Tutor.com Tutor.com is an online tutoring company founded in 1998 that connects students to tutors in online classrooms. Since 2022, the company has been owned by Primavera Capital Group. History Tutor.com was founded in 1998 by George Cigale. In its ea ...
, Student Advantage, and Eat New York, an early software-based restaurant guide. He is an angel investor in two dozen education technology ventures, and has served on the boards or advisory boards of several others including the
National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, board ...
, th
National Alliance of Public Charter Schools
The Institute for Citizens & Scholars The Institute for Citizens & Scholars (formerly known as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation) is a nonpartisan, non-profit institution based in Princeton, New Jersey that says it aims to strengthen American democracy by "cultivating ...
, Carnegie Learning, and
Renaissance Learning Renaissance Learning, Inc. (also known simply as Renaissance) is a software as a service and learning analytics company that makes Pre-K–12 educational software and adaptive assessments. Renaissance employs about 1,000 employees in nine U.S. cit ...
.


Issue advocacy

Despite being the founder of a business based on the preparation of students for a wide range of standardized tests, Katzman is an outspoken critic of the modern preoccupation with standardized testing. He 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 Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...
exams). He has also been outspoken in his opposition to the
Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was an American, multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout th ...
and tests based on it. He demands better outcomes from for-profit education providers. He often speaks on topics related to online education and the measurement of academic achievement. In 2008, Katzman and his wife pledged $1.5 million to help fund the Katzman/Ernst Chair in Educational Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation, an endowed chair in the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
Rossier School of Education to train and certify teachers for urban schools.


Awards

Katzman was a co-recipient of a Cable Television ACE Award in 1995 for Princeton Review's ''Student Admissions Television'', an education special about the SAT. Princeton Review's ''Inside the SAT'' software was the recipient of a 1996 software CODiE award. Katzman was a recipient of the 2018 ASU GSV Lifetime Achievement Award, which "honors individuals whose lives have had a profound impact in changing the world for good". In 2024, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in K-12 education by District Administration.


Controversy


Cybersquatting

At Princeton Review, Katzman was one of the first cybersquatters on the Internet. In 1994, he registered Kaplan.com, and then taunted that competitor by encouraging visitors to tell their stories about the company on that page. The case went to arbitration, where he offered to sell the domain for a case of beer; Kaplan declined, and was awarded the domain, leading Katzman to state that "The folks at Kaplan have no imagination, no sense of humor and no beer."


Online and for-profit education

As a founder of both 2U and its major competitor, Noodle Partners, Katzman is often mentioned in articles and discussions surrounding the Online Program Management (OPM) industry. At 2U, Katzman popularized the revenue-share model in which OPMs take a percentage of a university’s tuition revenue in exchange for program management. This business model is debated among higher education constituents and policymakers but remains popular today. A 2019 article by Kevin Carey published in the Huffington Post names Katzman as the impetus for the development of the entire OPM industry and some of the issues that have since arisen, including revenue-share and runaway digital marketing costs. Katzman, Carey says, is now fighting to change the tuition-splitting practices that he created. In 2020, however, Noodle Partners teamed up with Strategic Education to use WorkForceEdge, a platform to connect employees with educational programs. Strategic Education is the parent company of
Strayer University Strayer University is a private for-profit university headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1892 as Strayer's Business College and later became Strayer College, before being granted university status in 1998. Strayer University ...
and
Capella University Capella University is a private for-profit, online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school is owned by the publicly traded Strategic Education, Inc. Capella has 47 degree programs with over 1,600 courses. Approximately ...
.


Bibliography


Books

* ''Cracking the SAT'' with Adam Robinson. Villard Books, (1986). . * ''The Best 284 Colleges'', with Tom Meltzer and Zach Knower (1992). Current . * ''Class Action'', with Steven Hodas (1995).


Essays

* Katzman, John. "A Civil Education Marketplace" (May 10, 2016).
The State of Entrepreneurship in K–12 Education
* Lutz, Andy, Katzman, John, and Olsen, Erik (March 1, 2004),
Would Shakespeare Get Into Swarthmore?
,
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
.


Personal

Katzman lives in New York and is married to Alicia Ernst. They have two children, Daniel and Lyra.


References


External links


PBS Nightly Business ReportNoodle Education, Inc.Noodle Pros Tutor Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzman, John Princeton University School of Architecture alumni Living people 1959 births American technology company founders Birch Wathen Lenox School alumni