diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index c57e87f..cbe449f 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ migrate: ## Migrate the wagtail bakery site migrations
 test: ## Run all wagtail tests or pass in a file with `make test file=wagtail.admin.tests.test_name`
 	docker compose exec -w /code/wagtail web python runtests.py $(file) $(FILE)
 
+test-parallel: ## Equivalent to make test, but runs tests in parallel
+	docker compose exec -w /code/wagtail web python runtests.py $(file) $(FILE) --parallel
+	
 format-wagtail: ## Format Wagtail repo
 	docker compose exec -w /code/wagtail web make format-server
 	docker compose exec frontend make format-client
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index e5058ad..219acd0 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -136,13 +136,14 @@ docker compose down
 ### Run tests
 
 ```sh
+# run make test-parallel for tests to run faster but error messages can be more cryptic
 make test
 ```
 
 or
 
 ```sh
-docker compose exec -w /code/wagtail web python runtests.py
+docker compose exec -w /code/wagtail web python runtests.py --parallel
 ```
 
 ### Run tests for a specific file