The Future of SAT Prep and Student Counseling with Zinkerz CIO Karly Burke

Written by Matthew Connor | Nov 19, 2025 8:00:00 AM

Karly Burke serves as the Chief Information Officer at Zinkerz, a growing education technology company that has transformed from a simple mobile test prep platform into a full ecosystem for academic support, counseling, and intensive SAT and AP preparation. She entered the organization as a freelancer creating math content and gradually expanded her role through a combination of technical curiosity, instructional leadership, and a deep understanding of student performance data. Today she guides Zinkerz through major pivots in technology, student analytics, adaptive testing preparation, and program expansion while helping the company scale both its digital tools and human centered education model. Her background as a math educator, curriculum designer, and program architect gives her a unique viewpoint on how technology supports real learning and how personalization must remain central in online education.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

How Zinkerz transitioned from a fully automated SAT prep app to a hybrid education model centered on human instruction
Why the combination of automation and personalization creates stronger outcomes for students
How Zinkerz measures student performance and uses adaptive data to drive curriculum decisions
What parents should understand about the return of SAT requirements across top universities
The structure and philosophy behind Zinkerz counseling programs
How Zinkerz summer camps deliver high impact SAT score increases
Why Karly’s unique path from teacher to CIO shapes her leadership style
How Zinkerz continues to innovate its platform to support educators and students worldwide

In this episode…

Karly Burke details how Zinkerz evolved from a mobile only test prep platform into a multifaceted academic support system that blends technology with personalized instruction. She discusses the company’s early attempt to automate SAT preparation entirely and why the team realized that students needed far more interaction with educators. This insight sparked the company’s major shift toward online classes, counseling, and immersive summer programs.

She explains how Zinkerz gathers and analyzes student data to identify trends, pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, and deliver realistic adaptive testing that mirrors the current digital SAT experience. The conversation highlights the growing importance of tracking attendance, homework consistency, question level analytics, and difficulty patterns to inform instruction in real time.

Karly also provides clarity on the national shift back toward SAT requirements. She outlines how many top universities, including Ivy League institutions, are reintroducing standardized test expectations and how families should approach exam planning. She breaks down the Zinkerz counseling model, which avoids a la carte programs in favor of full relational guidance built over several years.

The final section explores Karly’s personal story. She shares her path from marketing to education, her eight year teaching career, and the unexpected moment when a former student introduced her to Zinkerz. Her progression from freelance math question writer to CIO is presented with humility and authenticity. It is a clear example of how curiosity, initiative, and a willingness to solve problems create opportunities for advancement within a growing company.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Matthew Connor on LinkedIn
CyberLynx Website
Karly Burke on LinkedIn
Zinkerz Website

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by CyberLynx.com

CyberL-Y-N-X.com.

CyberLynx is a complete technology solution provider to ensure your business has the most reliable and professional IT service.

The bottom line is we help protect you from cyber attacks, malware attacks, and the dreaded Dark Web.

Our professional support includes managed IT services, IT help desk services, cybersecurity services, data backup and recovery, and VoIP services. Our reputable and experienced team, quick response time, and hassle-free process ensures that clients are 100% satisfied.

To learn more, visit cyberlynx.com, email us at help@cyberlynx.com, or give us a call at 202-996-6600.

View full post