The Classic Learning Test is a new standardized test option that some colleges and universities are now accepting in their admissions process. The test serves as an alternative to the ACT and SAT for students who were educated during their K–12 years using a classical curriculum in which liberal arts is emphasized.
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CLT benefits
According to the CLT website, more than 300 schools accept these test scores as an alternative to the ACT or SAT. The CLT tests reading, grammar, writing and mathematics skills; however, the test also focuses on historical and classical literature.
In a press release from Louisiana Christian University, Amy Dufrene, director of counseling services, discussed the benefits the CLT offers students. Unlike other standardized tests that take about three hours to complete at an official testing center, the CLT takes two hours to complete and is proctored electronically so students can take the test at home.
The shortened test time and ability to take the exam at home in a familiar setting helps students who have test anxiety to perform better, Dufrene noted.
“Current research suggests that 10% to 30% of secondary education students experience test anxiety at some point in their educational experience,” she said. “High-stakes tests, such as the SAT or ACT, can be triggering for those who experience this type of anxiety due to the unfamiliarity of testing sites and/or time constraints associated with the exam.”
CLT in Alabama
Samford University, University of Mobile, Faulkner University and Kingdom College are four schools in the state of Alabama accepting CLT scores.
Hali Givens, assistant vice president for enrollment services at the University of Mobile, said accepting CLT scores levels the playing field for students who were homeschooled or attended classical Christian schools.
“It was a good standard for students who are coming out of the classical Christian school,” Givens said. “It just kind of made sense for us to accommodate those students who have come in and have proven to be very high academic students and well-performing students.”
The CLT aligns with the mission of the school as a Christian university, and the university has accepted CLT scores for a few years, she noted.
Choosing test-optional
Along with this third standardized test option, Givens said students also have the choice to opt out of submitting any standardized test scores.
“If a student has a 2.75 GPA, they actually can opt out of a standardized test,” Givens said. “Most of our students actually are choosing test-optional.”
Brian Kennedy, dean of admissions at Samford University, wrote in an email that Samford accepts ACT, SAT and CLT scores, as well as a test-optional choice. He wrote that the majority of applicants choose to submit ACT or SAT scores.
“Typically, less than one-third of our applicants apply test-optional,” Kennedy wrote.
An ACT state
Givens noted a lot of students who take the CLT also take the ACT. Most of UM’s applicants are in-state students, she said. Since all public high schoolers in Alabama are required to take the ACT at least once, the ACT is the test that most students submit in the application process.
Converting test scores
According to Givens, most of UM’s scholarships are based on ACT scores; however, CLT scores can be converted.
“We do have a conversion chart that converts the CLT to an ACT so we can look at that and see how it matches up with ACT,” Givens said.
According to the conversion charts on the CLT website, a perfect ACT score of 36 or a perfect SAT score of 1600 is equivalent to a perfect CLT score of 120.
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