Shmoop University Inc. (popularly known as Shmoop) is a for-profit online

educational technology 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" ...

company that specializes in

test preparation Test preparation (abbreviated test prep) or exam preparation is an educational course, tutoring service, educational material, or a learning tool designed to increase students' performance on standardized tests. Examples of these tests include ...

materials,

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

tools, and

learning Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, value (personal and cultural), values, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, non-human animals, and ...

content for

K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an English language expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States and Canada, which is similar to publicly supported sch ...

schools. Shmoop offers free study guides aimed at teens on a range of subjects, including

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

U.S. History The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

civics In the field of political science, civics is the study of the civil and political rights and obligations of citizens in a society. The term ''civics'' derives from the Latin word ''civicus'', meaning "relating to a citizen". In U.S. politics ...

financial literacy Financial literacy is the possession of skills, knowledge, and behaviors that allow an individual to make informed decisions regarding money. Financial literacy, financial education and financial knowledge are used interchangeably. Financially un ...

, and

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

.Rendón, Joanna Nelson
"To Shmoop or Not to Shmoop?"
Public Libraries Online (December 28, 2012). The website also offers test prep materials for common standardized tests, such as the ACT and the

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

. Materials for these tests are part of a paid monthly subscription package.

History

Shmoop started up in 2008,Furchgott, Roy
"A Professor’s Review of Online Cheat Sheets,"
''New York Times'' (Sept. 15, 2010). founded by

Ellen Siminoff Ellen Siminoff (born 1967, Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an entrepreneur, board member and investor. Frequently quoted in ''The New York Times'' as an Internet industry commentator, Siminoff was named one of ''Forbes'' magazine's Masters of Information ...

and

David Siminoff David E. Siminoff is a Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur. Biography Education Siminoff graduated with Honors from Stanford University. In 1986, he was a member of the varsity swimming & diving team, which went on to win multiple Pacific- ...

, who had previous investments in several major tech companies. (Ellen Siminoff was a founding executive at

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

). The initial content, focused on a high school English curriculum, was provided by David, and converted into

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

form by Ellen. According to David Siminoff, the name "Shmoop" comes from a

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

word meaning "move something forward a little;" it was also his pet name for his young daughter Sophie.Blodget, Henry
"For America's Crappy High Schools, Help Is Finally On The Way...,"
''Business Insider'' (Mar. 5, 2013). The resources proved popular, and the Siminoffs started Shmoop as a nonprofit. After licensing Shmoop content to a number of school systems, the Siminoffs recognized the site's profit potential. They converted Shmoop into a student-focused digital publishing company, hiring accredited authors, and installing Ellen as CEO and David as Chief Creative Officer respectively.Farnham, Alan
"Shmoop Uses Humor to Make Learning, Test-Prep Fun,"
ABC News (Feb. 24, 2014). In 2010, according to '' ZDNet'', Shmoop had "4000 titles providing extensive, well-written analyses of both modern and classic literature, as well as history and current events, among an expanding set of topics, ... making Shmoop the largest cross-platform educational publisher in the world." In 2017, Shmoop debuted a full suite of

Next Generation Science Standards The Next Generation Science Standards is a multi-state effort in the United States to create new education standards that are "rich in content and practice, arranged in a coherent manner across disciplines and grades to provide all students an int ...

-aligned online science courses, covering core high school subjects such as

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

earth science Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

, and more. By 2019, Shmoop was providing test preps and "digital curriculum" to more than 1,200

school districts A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary or secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school district and is used to assign stud ...

in the United States; the website's resources were being used by 16 million teachers and students monthly. For its first decade, Shmoop was headquartered in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

. In 2019, the company moved its operations to

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

. The same year, Andy Rahden took over as Shmoop's CEO,Ringle, Hayley
"Silicon Valley edtech company founded by former Yahoo executive moves HQ to Scottsdale: Affordable talent a driving factor in company relocation, exec says,"
''Phoenix Business Journal'' (July 1, 2019). although Ellen and David Siminoff remain on the company's board. In October 2019, Shmoop was a finalist in the Phoenix Entrepreneurial Opportunity Contest, sponsored by the

Phoenix Business Journal American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

and

BBVA USA BBVA USA was a bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. It was a subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from 2007 until 2021, when it was acquired by PNC Financial Services. It operated mainly in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado ...

Features

Shmoop's content is written by high-school or college-level teachers, and Ph.D. and

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

students. The website's free learning guides focus on topics like

, the

history of the United States The history of the present-day United States began in roughly 15,000 BC with the arrival of Peopling of the Americas, the first people in the Americas. In the late 15th century, European colonization of the Americas, European colonization beg ...

, and

. Shmoop's premium content requires a paid subscription plan, which can range in price depending on the different options. Shmoop also offers resources for understanding

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

called "Shmooping Shakespeare," which includes an "in-depth summary and analysis of every single one of his plays and many of his poems; an extensive biography; an entire section devoted to his most famous quotes and another devoted to the words he coined," as well as features like a Shakespeare "translator" and versions of his work in modern English. In addition, Shmoop offers the following resources for high school students, college students, and teachers:Chen, Connie
"Insider Picks: I used this online education site to help me understand difficult topics and prepare for tests in high school and college — and I still recommend it to all students today,"
''Business Insider'' (Jul 9, 2018).

For high-schoolers

* test prep for

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 ...

, ACT,

PSAT/NMSQT The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a standardized test administered by the College Board and cosponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) in the United States. In the 2018–2019 s ...

, and

subject tests * online courses that count toward college admissions requirements * college resources section

For college students

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,600 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educati ...

credit courses that count as transferable college credits (approved by the University of California and

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a Public university, public university system in California, and the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest public university system in the United States ...

systems) * job searching guides

Criticism

Because Shmoop provides study guides for literature that include "information likely to appear on tests, such as plot analyses, character information, and even key quotations," educators have seen the website as a cheating tool. These teachers argue that students can use Shmoop as a replacement for actually completing reading assignments with the original material. Shmoop states that it does not support

academic dishonesty Academic dishonesty, academic misconduct, academic fraud and academic integrity are related concepts that refer to various actions on the part of students that go against the expected norms of a school, university or other learning institution ...

plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...

.Coppendale, Lynne, BA(Hons), DiplS, MCLIP. ''The School Librarian''; Wanborough Vol. 59, Iss. 2, (Summer 2011): 83
Archived at ProQuest
Instead, it suggests that students read the original material, and then check Shmoop to compare their own interpretation of the text with the Shmoop analysis."Shmoop on Plagiarism,"
Shmoop.com. Accessed Apr. 4, 2022. Quoting Carl Fisher, the chair of the comparative world literature and classics department of

California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

, Shmoop was also criticized by ''The New York Times'' for the irreverent tone it employs in its study guides: "'It makes an interesting attempt to be hip,' he said, 'but it is just so high school-y.'" ''The Times'' also faulted Shmoop for misspelling the last name of the English author

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

in one of the company's study guides.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shmoop American educational websites Companies based in Arizona Distance education institutions based in the United States Educational publishing companies of the United States Educational institutions established in 2008 Internet properties established in 2008 Scottsdale, Arizona Study guides 2008 establishments in the United States

History

Features

For high-schoolers

For college students

Criticism

See also

References

External links