Florida may become the first state to approve classical admissions test for college

A Florida college board could make the state the first to offer a classical exam for public college admissions as an alternative to the SAT and ACT.

The proposed college admissions test, called the Classic Learning Test (CLT), takes two hours to complete and contains three multiple-choice sections: verbal reasoning, grammar and writing, and quantitative reasoning.

“Unlike other tests that change according to educational or cultural trends, CLT exams emphasize foundational critical thinking skills and are accessible to students from a variety of educational backgrounds,” the official website states.

The Florida Board of Governors is expected to vote on accepting the test for admissions on Aug. 30, according to Axios.

The board’s consideration follows Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signing of HB 1537 in May, which provides funding for high school juniors in all school districts to take the CLT.

The new law also allows students to use their CLT scores to meet eligibility requirements for the state’s lottery-based Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

If the board approves the CLT, Florida will become the first public university system in the country to officially accept the test.