From the Wild West to a Level Playing Field
How Lick-Wilmerding High School Transformed Test Prep
Lick-Wilmerding High School (LWHS) is a San Francisco independent school with a strong commitment to equity. Built around the idea of developing the head, heart, and hands of highly motivated students from all walks of life, the school actively works to ensure that students from all economic backgrounds have access to the same opportunities. When it came to college test preparation, that same standard applied.
The Challenge: An Uneven Playing Field
For college-bound students, standardized testing remains a significant factor in admissions outcomes. Strong test scores give students the best possible chance to present a complete and competitive application.
Marvin Coote, Dean of College Counseling at LWHS, had a simple way of describing test prep before working with Test Innovators: “It was more or less the wild wild west.” Students were left to navigate prep on their own, turning to Reddit, Facebook groups, and word-of-mouth recommendations. Families with more resources found better solutions. Those without didn’t. The result was an uneven playing field baked into the process before a single student had even registered for the SAT.
“We thought there was a lot of inequity around who found what and whether the test service was actually good.” After doing some research and fielding a timely outreach from Test Innovators, Marvin began exploring what a school-wide program could look like. What followed was less a sales process and more a conversation about fit.
Building a Program That Fits
“It wasn’t cookie cutter. It wasn’t here’s what we offer, take it or leave it. It was: what do you need? What works for you?” Marvin explained.
That approach shaped everything that followed. LWHS needed a solution that could accommodate different schedules, learning needs, and financial situations, not a fixed package.
Test Innovators worked with the school to create a program that offered both in-person and virtual classes, kept class sizes under 20 students, and gave every participant full access to the Test Innovators platform for independent practice. For students on financial aid, LWHS subsidizes the cost directly, ensuring participation isn’t limited by income. Today, over half of the students currently enrolled in the program are on financial aid.
Stronger Uptake, Stronger Scores
Participation has grown steadily since launch, with well over 80 students now enrolled, a number that has continued to climb each year as word spreads. What started as an experiment became, as Marvin put it, “a good problem to have,” one that required adding sessions to keep class sizes small. Part of what drove that demand was the Test Innovators platform itself.
The platform provides students with personalized practice that focuses on the areas that lead to the greatest score improvements. Authentic practice tests and tailored practice modules allow students to work on specific weaknesses rather than grinding through material they’d already mastered. In fact, LWHS students who use Test Innovators show measurably larger score increases between the PSAT and SAT than peers who don’t.
For students, the shift was tangible. “Having it broken down into smaller chunks makes it feel a lot more feasible and attainable,” said Lauren, a LWHS student. Ben, another LWHS student, described how the platform helped identify specific areas for improvement: “You can go back and look at what you could have done better. It’s very analytical. I learned a lot about myself as a test taker.”
Confidence as an Outcome
Beyond scores, the program changed how students approached the test itself. Marvin recalls walking into a test prep session and watching a student confidently explain a problem to the rest of the class, something that would have been unlikely without the framework the program provides. “Other students said it was really great to hear from a peer,” he noted. “If they could do it, I can do it too.”
That shift, from anxiety to readiness, is perhaps the clearest signal that the program is working. As one student put it simply: “I definitely feel more confident now. It’s doable.”
Watch the Full Story
We sat down with Marvin and Lick-Wilmerding High School students to hear directly about their experience. Watch the full story above.
Get in Touch
If you’re a school counselor or administrator looking to provide structured, equitable test prep for your students, get in touch with the Test Innovators team.
Dale Parkinson
Dale Parkinson brings ten years of sales and marketing experience to his role at Test Innovators, where he focuses on connecting schools, tutoring companies, and organizations with the tools they need to deliver better student outcomes. A Fine Art graduate of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England, he photographs local artists and bands around San Diego, writes music, and plays in bands himself.
