"SAT prep: drudgery :: iPods and manga comics: cool.

A leading test prep provider is turning to pop culture to make preparing for the SATs more palatable for high schoolers.

Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions has released two new tools that students can use to bolster their scores without flipping through thick prep books: practice tests downloadable on iPods and comic books with SAT words woven into their storylines.

“It’s summertime and kids are on the go,” said Kristen Campbell, national director of SAT and ACT programs for Kaplan.

“We see this as a great supplement to the tutoring programs we have.”

Kaplan partnered with the creators of Japanese manga comics after the company’s survey of librarians found that the graphic novels were popular among high school students.

“They said that these are reinvigorating student interest in reading,” Campbell said.

Kaplan does not change the comic’s storyline at all; it simply replaces simpler words with ones that may be on the SATs.

“I could see how it would be a good thing for kids to use,” said Charlottesville High student Eden Turk-heimer, who took Kaplan’s SAT prep course before the May exam but who does not read manga.

Turkheimer, however, thought that taking SAT practice tests on an iPod could catch on.

“I feel like if it’s on the iPod, it will always be there with you because kids carry it around everywhere,” she said.

Beau Eichling, the owner of Atlas Comics in Char-lottesville, has noticed the fanatical following that manga has among teenage girls, as the comics often deal with romance and relationships.

“I’ve never seen a group of more obsessed and passionate people,” Eichling said.

“If I have what they want, they freak out.”

He thought that integrating SAT words into the comics would be effective." (Matt Deegan, The Daily Progress, July 1, 2007)