Achieva, an Ambitious Test-Preparation Company, Shifts Its Focus

By VASUGI V. GANESHANANTHAN

A year ago, a fledgling test-preparation company called Achieva created a stir by pioneering a new type of college counseling, in which school districts paid the company for the kind of service they would normally receive from their own high-school guidance counselors.

With eight California offices, big-name investors, and plans to place Achieva staffers directly on site at several high schools, the company looked like it just might change the face of college