Florida adopts ‘Classic Learning Test’ for college admissions.
Florida Approves Classic Learning Test for Public Colleges
Florida’s university system has given the green light for public colleges to use the Classic Learning Test (CLT) in admissions, an exam touted by conservatives as reinforcing Western ideals and seen as a pushback against leftist undermining of educational standards.
The CLT assessment, an alternative to college entry exams like the SAT and ACT, has grown in popularity among home-schooled students and has been widely accepted by Christian schools for some time.
But now, the CLT—which is backed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—has been elevated for use in the state’s public colleges and universities by way of a Friday vote of the board of governors of the State University System of Florida.
“Because we reject the status quo, today’s decision means we are better serving students by giving them an opportunity to showcase their academic potential and paving the path to higher education,” the State University System of Florida said in a statement on Sept. 8.
The Florida State University System is the second-largest public university system in the United States, with 12 universities and over 430,000 students.
“The CLT places a strong emphasis on classical education, which includes a focus on reading, writing, and critical thinking skills,” the State University System of Florida said in a statement. “It is designed to align with a classical liberal arts curriculum, which some educators and institutions believe provides a more well-rounded and meaningful education.”
‘Huge Milestone’
Mr. Tate, who now serves as Chief Executive Officer of the CLT, said in an open letter obtained by The Epoch Times that his work on developing the exam was driven by his classroom experiences teaching English, in particular with students who were failing and experienced years of boredom in school working with texts sanitized in line with the latest “woke” educational trends that seek to shield students from anything potentially distressing. remove
In an interview with Fox News on Friday, Mr. Tate called Friday’s decision by Florida’s state university system a “huge milestone.”
“I’ve been so impressed with the folks in Florida, their commitment to excellence in education has been incredible,” he told the outlet.
Mr. Tate argued that SAT and ACT sensitivity committees have “dumbed down” the tests so that students don’t get distressed reading them.
“The idea there is that if a kid reads anything distressing or upsetting, then they’re not going to get an accurate score,” he explained. “And it’s gotten so ridiculous that they don’t end up putting anything of meaning or substance in front of students.”
Not all of the board members of the Florida State University System backed the CLT approval.
University of Florida professor Amanda Phalin, as the sole objector, said that she didn’t oppose the CLT in principle but merely “the use of it at this time” because of a lack of empirical evidence showing that it’s of the same quality as the SAT and the ACT.
“I’m simply concerned because the test’s reliability and validity have not been independently demonstrated or verified,” she said during the meeting.
The College Board, a nonprofit that develops and administers standardized tests and curricula used by K-12 and post-secondary education institutions, has recognized the role the CLT can play in a “diverse educational landscape” but found flaws with the concordance study that meant to compare students’ scores on the CLT with ones on the SAT.
“The SAT is a proven, valid predictor of college performance, based on year
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