A new standardized test that prioritizes history and classical knowledge has exploded in popularity in recent years. Now, it could challenge the SAT and ACT’s monopoly over what testing metrics colleges use to decide which applicants to admit.
Until recently, the Classical Learning Test (CLT) was primarily accepted by a small market of Christian colleges and universities. But now – in part thanks to changes by the Trump administration – the military service academies and more than 300 other universities are accepting the CLT as an alternative to the SAT or ACT.
While the legacy standardized tests are hyper-obsessed with “career readiness” and have been accused of watering down questions in recent years, the CLT looks to not only test academic knowledge but also reorient education toward preserving traditional American values. Education leader Jeremy Tate developed the test after his own experience running a standardized testing prep company. He became disillusioned about the “college and career readiness” focus of the SAT and ACT.
As Tate and other critics of the education system have explained, schools’ reputations (whether fairly or not) are closely tied to student performance on standardized tests. Therefore, schools have an incentive to “teach to the test” in order to maximize scores.
The goals of the standardized tests inevitably become the goals of the education curriculum itself. While preparing students for college may be a noble goal in the abstract, if only “college” skills are the focus of standardized tests, then schools will not teach other valuable skills, such as logic and rhetoric, that are necessary to maintain a healthy democratic society.
Writing all the way back in 2016, Tate explained: “the content of the SAT/ACT reflects an impoverished philosophy of education that stands in sharp contrast to the traditional or classical understanding of why we educate our children.”
Rather, he argued, “the formation of the human person, the formation of the heart in virtue,” should always stand “paramount when considering the rationale for education,” as taught in the “Western Tradition.”
Students taking the CLT encounter problems that are very different from the rigid questions on the SAT and ACT. “CLT tests have included passages from C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Augustine, and Flannery O’Connor,” Tate wrote. “The passages engage the moral compass and conscience of a student rather than his or her intellect alone.”
The test draws from an impressive, if not a little intimidating, list of authors throughout the centuries. Other featured authors include Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen, as well as Toni Morrison and Martin Luther King, Jr.
It is no surprise that this test, which started off serving a market of Protestant and Catholic colleges, has since become an effective counterweight to the SAT and ACT duopoly. In 2024, the SAT replaced long, multi-question reading passages with short, 25-150-word paragraphs, each followed by a single question – an apparent watering down of expectations after scores began declining. The ACT also now gives students more time and fewer questions to reduce “speed-related stress.”
Accordingly, more schools are now turning to alternatives like the CLT to learn which students actually have the best chance to succeed. For the first time ever, the military service academies will accept CLT test scores for the 2027 admissions cycle.
“The CLT is the gold standard, and our academies need to attract the very best,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced in 2025.
Other leaders have also pushed for its acceptance, explaining the test’s value.
“Requiring our military academies to accept the CLT will help cultivate a new generation of leaders who are not only exceptionally capable but deeply grounded in the principles that make America strong,” Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) said last year.
She wants to see Congress pass a requirement that the service academies accept the test so that a future president cannot undo the Trump administration’s action. As she explained to Fox News, “America’s service academies should represent the highest ideals of our nation — courage, integrity and intellect. The Classical Learning Test upholds those same ideals.”
Throughout the country, universities and state leaders are coming to this same realization.
As of March, more than 300 universities accept the CLT. Every public university in Indiana must accept the test following a new law signed last month by Governor Mike Braun.
“The effort slots Indiana in with several other red states that have embraced the test, which aims to promote the ‘Western intellectual tradition’ some believe has been abandoned by existing standardized tests,” the Indianapolis Star reported.
Indiana follows Florida, which in 2023 became the first state to require its public universities to accept the test. Arkansas also recently voted to offer the test to all high schoolers, and the University of Arkansas system currently accepts the results for admission. Ohio legislators are also moving forward a bill to require public universities in the Buckeye State to accept the CLT.
Critics will argue that the test is “conservative” or focuses too much on Western Civilization. They also will argue that there is not enough data to say whether the test accurately predicts a student’s propensity to succeed in college.
But the real scrutiny should be on the SAT and ACT. Despite decades of those tests having an ironclad grip on college admissions offices, multiple reports suggest students, even some at elite colleges, are struggling to finish an entire book.
The Classical Learning Test, by emphasizing critical thinking skills and an appreciation for the foundations of Western Civilization, has the ability to disrupt the broken educational system – and reform American culture as well.
Matt Lamb is an AMAC Newsline contributor and associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.
Hmm,
As “progressive” modern academia has “dumbed down” college & university students over the years, they are now finding out we are becoming less and less competitive globally.
Take a look at an 8th grade exam from 1895.
(It’s too long to post here, but easily accessible online). – The New Republic posted a copy from a school in Salina Kansas. There are other examples easily accessible as well.
Remember your grandparents telling you they only had an 8th grade education?
Of course Progressives will play the race card ad nauseam, but hell, some of today’s college students can’t define what a woman is or what year the war of 1812 was fought, let alone why.
Many of today’s leaders in recent history, the lion’s share of whom are Democrats, cannot create common sense policies nor put together a cohesive speech.
Thomas Jefferson, who was classically educated, drafted the Declaration of Independence when he was barely in his 30’s –
I rest my case.
You can have “higher education” but if you do not have “common sense” it is worthless.
If it interferes with the Democrats indoctrination of your children and allows parents to raise their own children, Democrats will file a lawsuit and find a liberal district federal court judge to block it. Guaranteed
It took only how many decades and billions of dollars to realize that it is not enough to be properly indoctrinated and sexually flexible to function on international or even domestic scene, that there actually must be ability to function academically. A Eureka moment.
Interesting, hopefully this will improve the pool of potential candidates for military service and/or higher education. “Thinking wistfully” At 65 today, I have to wonder how my educational background would score on the new test. I might be a rocket scientist and not even realize it.
Good Article! Makes sense! Alough I had the SAT and ACT tests way back in the early 60’s, it was a better test then than the watered down versions today!
SAT scores are more important for school systems to gain more money towards indoctrination – it’s abundantly clear today’s youth aren’t as well educated as their grandparents – those of us born in the 1950’s weren’t as well educated as those born in 1900, where they spent fewer years in school, yet knew Shakespeare, the Bible, Greek mythology, etc. Today’s youth only learn to hate each other for any differences, hate themselves, because they’re told they were born in the wrong body & to hate our nation. Humanity is regressing.
CLT critics (99% being Democrat) say CLT is racist, and far to challenging for minorities. It’s too difficult, with expectations being to high.
(What they’re saying is that society has made the last three generation’s success almost totally dependent on lowering standards, limiting required tests, and dumbing down all curriculums from K-12, and carried over into colleges and universities.
And the destructive practice of coddling and enabling all minorities to succeed, through minority quotas on admissions and closely following DEI, SHOULD BE THE NORM. NO ADMISSIONS WILL BE GRANTED BASED ON MERITS).
Has s statistical study been conducted to determine how a given student test scores on the CLT and SAT and ACT compare?
We will see. In my experience, “New and IMPROVED!” doesn’t mean much. Except it costs more, and doesn’t work as well.
Having the high school students read more is never wasted. I was always amazed when students debated Charlie Kirk about the bible and other books. How much some students knew and how much Charlie knew as well. He could go toe to toe with the smartest students. Learning the world of today and how we got here, and various authors makes them rich in forming opinions. Teaching them only one thing is brainwashing them. The SAT and ACT have been around to long and the high school curriculum is geared to those tests. Maybe shake up the system might be good. Culls out the bad teachers as well. Not everyone needs to go to college and go into debt and start out with a debt. Working with your hands is the future of this country because computers and AI will take over the desk jobs. But building a car needs a different education as well as repairing that car. The plumbing, electricity and heating systems in your house and let’s not forget the ones that built those homes, is all hand work. Have the Ivy League schools open their bank accounts and lower their tuition for our future scientists doctors and lawyers. Bernie keeps screaming how bad the millionaires are. But without those millionaires nobody would have a job. Our infrastructure would be a mess. Our inner cities are deteriorating right now to hold the illegals and the homeless. Because the democrats want to keep them poor. You know to get more Federal Funds to send to Somalia or Hamas or Sudan. You know those countries that hate America like Iran. The dem politicians are screaming Iran is not going to do anything won’t attack us with a nuclear weapon. Really now. What if Trump had not attacked Iran and weakened them don’t think they wouldn’t have blockaded the straight of Hormuz or drop a bomb on America or Israel. Russia is standing behind them to help and China is dependent on them for oil. This would have happened in spite of the Bernie’s in the senate or the house screaming their rhetoric. Their truth is no more legitimate or truthful than Bernie is a poor democrat. He is a millionaire himself.
Thank God people are coming to their senses! At 74 I’ve watched our kids lose more in academia than my great grandparents had back in the 1800’s. While AI might have it’s place in assisting it should not be used to give answers to students. Kids need to think for themselves and therefore must do research or truly converse to make informed decisions. Were we to get hit by an EMP or something , would they know how to communicate or send script messages, do math on their own? What about reading, AI is now reading to them! We’ve come a long way no doubt, but at what cost?
This is very encouraging but not nearly enough. The entire education industry needs to be reimagined, redesigned and implemented to benefit young people on the rise to maturity, communities and the nation. Will take a comprehensive investigation of all current practices and begin altering most of them. A major task for the truly patriotic.
I’m not sure I could pass that test!
New test idea: VAAT: Vocational Apptitude Academic Test: cover both subjects & Hands on Testing, Use 3D glasses etc for Test
Nationwide
Liberals against CLT is to be expected. Without seeing the questions on this test, I tend to support it, since seemingly it is used to reflect the values that has kept our country the greatest country on earth, IMO.
Thank you Jesus!!!! It’s so far past the time this should have happened. Years ago, my mother gave me a copy of her 8th grade graduation final exam. I would not have been able to pass that exam!!!! It was an amazing mixture of questions which sorted through all the needed educational studies (history, math, science, geography, reading, spelling) and into questions which challenged a student’s ‘thought process’ and analytical skills. Heaven forbid, it even had religion in it. This new testing system is a beginning!!! I wish it was mandated!
It sounds good to me, go for it!
I would bet hegseth and most other DC critters would have trouble.