By the Classic Test Prep Editorial Team · Last updated: August 6, 2026
The Classic Learning Test (CLT) is a standardized college entrance exam and an alternative to the SAT and ACT. It’s a 2-hour, 120-question test with three sections — Verbal Reasoning, Grammar/Writing, and Quantitative Reasoning — scored on a 120-point scale. More than 350 colleges and universities accept the CLT for admissions.
Launched in December 2015 by Classic Learning Initiatives, the CLT is built around texts from the great books of the Western intellectual tradition – authors like Augustine, Chaucer, and Frederick Douglass – rather than the contemporary informational passages found on the SAT and ACT. In 2025, around 300,000 CLT exams were administered (driven disproportionately by Florida), and that number is poised to climb in the next few years as more state university systems accept CLT scores.
Every CLT has the same predictable format: three mandatory sections of 40 questions each, for 120 scored questions in 120 minutes.
Section | Time | Questions | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
Verbal Reasoning | 40 min | 40 | Reading comprehension and analysis of four passages |
Grammar/Writing | 35 min | 40 | Editing and improving four passages |
Quantitative Reasoning | 45 min | 40 | Logic, mathematical reasoning, and problem-solving (no calculator) |
Total | 120 min | 120 | 2 hrs 30 min with the optional 30-minute essay |
Each Verbal Reasoning and Grammar/Writing section contains four reading passages of 500–650 words with 10 questions apiece. Most passages are drawn from the CLT’s Author Bank which is the test’s defining difference from the SAT and ACT. The optional essay (one prompt, 30 minutes) is available to students testing online in a school-proctored setting.
The CLT is scored on a 0–120 scale: one point per correct question, with no penalty for wrong answers. Your total score closely approximates your number of correct answers, with statistical equating applied so scores are comparable across test dates. Score reports include percentile ranks and comparisons to ACT, SAT, and PSAT scores, based on a 2023 concordance study that linked CLT and SAT scores using a sample of 4,375 students who took both exams.
Within one week for in-school online testers, within three weeks for remotely proctored (at-home) testers, and within 30 days for paper testers. Students can send scores to colleges for free.
There are three ways to take the CLT:
The at-home option is a major reason the CLT is popular with homeschool families: no test center required.
CLT | SAT | ACT | |
|---|---|---|---|
Length | 2 hrs | ~2 hrs 14 min | ~2 hrs 5 min (core) |
Score scale | 0–120 | 400–1600 | 1–36 |
Passage sources | Classic texts (Author Bank) | Contemporary / informational | Contemporary / informational |
At-home option | Yes (remote proctoring) | No | No |
Sections | 3 (Verbal, Grammar, Quantitative) | 2 (Reading & Writing, Math) | 3 core (English, Math, Reading); Science and essay optional |
The substance tested overlaps heavily. CLT’s own concordance research affirms that the CLT and SAT “measure highly similar constructs.” The single biggest difference is the passage material for Reading and Grammar/Writing: if a student reads classic literature comfortably, the CLT plays to that strength. Another difference is the specific types of subject matter tested in the Quantitative Reasoning.
More than 350 colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad accept the CLT for admissions, with over $100 million in annual scholarship dollars tied to CLT scores (per cltexam.com/colleges, July 2026). Acceptance began mostly among classical, Christian, and liberal-arts colleges (Hillsdale, Grove City, Benedictine, and others).
But six state university systems have adopted (or are in the process of adopting) the CLT: Arkansas, Florida (2023), Indiana (fall 2026 under SB 88), and Texas (August 2026), with Georgia (all public universities except Georgia Tech and UGA) and North Carolina following for fall 2027 admissions. U.S. service academies will also begin integrating the CLT in fall 2027.
The CLT is a strong fit for students who have studied serious literature, and these are often students from classical, Christian, private, and homeschool backgrounds. But it is also for anyone applying to schools where CLT scholarships are on the table. It’s also the shortest of the three exams, and the only one that can be taken at home. Students applying to colleges that don’t yet accept the CLT should plan to take the SAT or ACT as well.
