Consumer Reports WebWatch, a reporting service from the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports that investigates the credibility of online services, has reviewed 10 web sites that purport to help students prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), a key qualifier for admission to top colleges. The group's evaluation suggests that a free site's services are as effective as others costing upwards of $400--and testers also found the offerings of many major brands marred by grammatical errors, technical glitches, and aggressive advertising tactics.

WebWatch and the Mediatech Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Flemington, N.J., tested 10 online SAT prep services last summer. The tests reportedly cost Webwatch $33,000 to conduct.

The Mediatech Foundation recruited 20 high school juniors to evaluate 10 sites online: Barron's Test Prep, Boston Test Prep, Kaplan's SAT Online Prep, Number2.com, Peterson's SAT Online Course, PrepMe, SAT Secrets, Test Preparation Program, The Official SAT Online Course, and The Princeton Review. WebWatch noted that the data collected from the study were not statistically significant, because only 20 students took the online test-prep courses.

Taking the SAT has become a rite of passage for more than 1 million college-bound high-school students in the United States each year. In tandem, demand for SAT test preparation services has grown, driven by the competitive nature of college admissions and the ability to take the SAT repeatedly to attain a better score. The size of the online market for test-prep services is hard to define, but it has been estimated at $50 million by Eduventures Inc., a Boston-based research firm.

Because of the increasing role of the internet in delivering SAT test-prep services to students and families, WebWatch and Mediatech selected 10 such online services to review. Each of the 10 sites was reviewed by two students during a minimum of five, four-hour sessions.

The sites were chosen to represent a range of costs--from free of charge to $500. Student testers deemed seven of the 10 sites generally effective in what they promised to deliver. In most cases, testers were pleased with their experience, and would recommend this method of study to others. Of the three that received poor reviews--SAT Secrets, Test Preparation Program's Online Test Prep, and PrepMe--only PrepMe returned calls from an eSchool News reporter.

WebWatch said it observed what it called some "troubling trends," particularly regarding the blending of advertising and educational content, aggressive marketing, and privacy practices. In one case, according to the report, The Princeton Review reportedly sent an eMail message that included a link to a United States Air Force recruiting form to a tester who expressed interest in college scholarship information. Students using the test-prep services from the College Board, the SAT's creator, also reported receiving eMails from banks, military recruiters, or offers of financial aid or study aid. The College Board also reportedly marketed its web-based online test-prep service in advertising space not clearly distinguished from free test resources.