Stanley H. Kaplan, a businessman who always remained a teacher at heart, died on August 23rd as a result of heart failure at the age of ninety.

Attending a Kaplan tutoring session has become something of a rite of passage thousands of students each year, who call upon the education center to help them succeed on standardized tests like the SAT. The Stanley H. Kaplan Education Centers Ltd. was propelled to the spotlight when it was founded in 1938, making it the first test preparation company in the country. The Kaplan name has since become synonymous with the pursuit of higher education, and has led the way for the for-profit education industry in the process.

Even as a teen, Kaplan demonstrated an early love of teaching other students, and tutored his peers for a fee of 25 cents an hour. After being rejected from medical school in 1938, he began his tutoring business in the basement of his parents’ Brooklyn home, during what the company called “an era of ethnic quotas”. Kaplan firmly believed that all students should have access to quality education—regardless of their connections, race, or economic background.

“He was a true pioneer,” said Andy Rosen, chairman and CEO of Kaplan Inc. “He helped remove barriers to higher education for thousands of students.”

In the following years, Kaplan had expanded the business to include test preparation for law, business, and medical schools. Besides test preparation, Kaplan Inc. grew to include actual education facilities and colleges (with both online and ground campuses), professional training, and tutoring services for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Despite his growing success, Kaplan faced resistance from both standardized test companies and students. The College Board contended that it was not possible to improve students’ test scores through coaching. Opposition to the Kaplan business was so strong that many students felt the need to register under fake names.

“To say you can’t improve scores is to say you can’t improve students, and I disagree with that,” Kaplan told The New York Times in 1979. The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia refused to run his advertisements in the student paper and the university refused to give him permission to hang posters and rent classrooms. Kaplan contended that such opposition was “elitist”, and students continued to flock to his classes.

Kaplan remained convinced of the value of his tutoring services. His persistence was justified in 1979, when the Federal Trade Commission admitted that Kaplan test preparation classes did improve student test scores. Despite his financial success, the education pioneer always remained true to his original mission statement—receiving invitations to help poor test-takers, many of whom were underprivileged minority students.

By the time Kaplan sold his business to The Washington Post Company in 1984, it had grown to include over 100 centers and nearly 100,000 students. During his retirement, he had devoted his energy to charitable causes in education, health, and the arts.

In his autobiography, Kaplan wrote that when he and siblings were born, he was sure that his mother “swatted us on the backside and pronounced with conviction, ‘You’re going to college.’ ” His belief that every student should have access to a quality education has led to a multi-million dollar industry that has not lost its heart.