Arkansas approves Classic Learning Test for use in college admissions

America is having a renaissance of classical education, and the Classic Learning Test – an alternative to the SAT and ACT – is no exception.

Founded in 2015 and designed to infuse truth, goodness and beauty into standardized testing, the CLT has now been approved for use in admission in a second public university system.

The Arkansas General Assembly passed the Arkansas Access Act to provide a variety of higher education reforms, including using the CLT in public university admissions. 

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders touted the measure in her 2025 State of the State address, saying, “Every Arkansan is unique, and every education journey will be unique too.” 

The bill was approved by a 27-6 vote in the Senate and 81-17 in the House. Gov. Sanders signed the bill into law on March 19. 

Florida also approved the CLT in 2023. 

Currently, more than 280 colleges and universities accept the classical exam, representing 43 states, the District of Columbia, Canada and several international institutions. 

But it was state endorsements that have helped the CLT soar. After being accepted by Florida, the exam had 182,000 test takers last year – seven times more than the year before. 

Meanwhile, the SAT and ACT are declining in popularity. 

Between 2019 and 2024, the number of SAT takers declined from 2.2 million to 1.97 million. The ACT also fell from 1.78 to 1.4 million. 

And Florida and Arkansas aren’t the only states bringing the classical test to college entrance exams. 

Texas bill HB 3068 proposed adding CLT to the list of approved assessments for entrance to Texas’ public universities. The bill was introduced in February and is being considered by the House’s committee on Higher Education. 

Twin measures in the Tennessee Legislature would also allow the CLT to be used for admission to public colleges, as well as satisfy eligibility requirements for state grants and scholarships.  

However, both Tennessee bills appear to have stalled in their respective committees.  

While the CLT isn’t universally accepted by Oklahoma colleges, State Superintendent Ryan Walters is promoting it for graduating high school students seeking recognition as an Oklahoma Academic Scholar.  

“Classical learning is a proven successful education method,” Walters wrote on social media. “We should not treat it as lesser than.” 

West Virginia also has bills promoting the CLT, including one which would require all institutions of higher education to accept the exam and another making it a testing option alongside the SAT and ACT for seekers of financial aid. 

But since the CLT is only a decade old, not everyone in the education establishment is willing to give it a chance. 

The Iowa Board of Regents – which oversees the state’s public university system – recommended against using the classical exam, saying there was “no evidence to support the predictive efficacy of the CLT.”  

Regents cited the limited sample size of CLT students and a lack of data on long-term student outcomes.  

But CLT staff believe the exam will prove to be more accurate at predicting success than the SAT or ACT.  

“While the ACT and SAT are solely achievement-based exams (assessing how well a student has mastered a body of content or academic standards), the CLT is both an achievement and aptitude-based exam (also assessing a student’s potential and ability to think critically and problem-solve),” Taren Boyes, marketing director at CLT, previously told The Lion. 

“Because of this, the CLT offers a more comprehensive reflection of a student’s abilities.” 

CLT is even launching the Classical Teaching Corps – a program for college graduates to teach in participating classical schools while furthering their education.