Texas public universities can now consider Classic Learning Test (CLT) scores when evaluating applicants who fall outside the state's top-10% automatic admissions window, following a July 22, 2026 decision by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The CLT is a third national entrance exam — alongside the SAT and ACT — accepted at over 350 colleges, all five U.S. military service academies, and public university systems in Florida and North Carolina.

What Just Changed in Texas

On July 22, 2026, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board voted to commission an independent review comparing the CLT, SAT, and ACT. The next day, Commissioner Wynn Rosser sent a letter to Texas public university leaders clarifying that schools can immediately consider CLT scores for any applicant who does not qualify for automatic admission under the state's top-10% rule.1

This is not a full policy change — the SAT and ACT remain the only tests recognized under Texas law for guaranteed, automatic admission. But holistic review, the process used for the majority of applicants, is a different matter. For applicants outside the top-10% cutoff, Texas universities now have the flexibility to weigh CLT scores alongside everything else in a student's file.

The coordinating board plans to convene a formal rulemaking panel to write the CLT into statewide admissions rules. That process is expected to be complete by fall 2028.

Texas A&M and the University of Houston have not yet moved to accept CLT scores. A July 29 review from Texas A&M researchers found the CLT "rigorous and reliable" but labeled it "moderate risk" due to limited data on predictive validity. On a 1-to-4 scale, the SAT scored 4.0 and the ACT scored 3.8 in predictive validity; the CLT scored lower because fewer multi-year studies have tracked how CLT scores correlate with college performance. The University of Texas is currently administering the CLT to incoming freshmen as a real-world trial to generate that evidence.2

Texas A&M and the University of Houston have not confirmed they will accept CLT scores for this admissions cycle, despite the coordinating board's guidance. If a specific Texas university matters to your list, verify its current testing policy directly on the admissions website before signing up for the CLT.

What Is the CLT?

The Classic Learning Test is a college entrance exam with three sections: Verbal Reasoning, Grammar and Writing, and Quantitative Reasoning. Each section contains 40 multiple-choice questions — 120 questions total — completed in 120 minutes. The score range is 0 to 120, with each section worth up to 40 points.

The test costs $69, less than the current SAT fee and about the same as the base ACT. Students can take the CLT multiple times and submit their highest score.

What distinguishes the CLT from the SAT and ACT is the reading material. CLT passages come from primary source texts — Aristotle, Augustine, the Federalist Papers, Newton — rather than contemporary articles or fiction. This design reflects the exam's origins in the classical education movement. Students who attended schools with classical or Great Books curricula often find those passages more familiar territory.

A composite score between 100 and 120 is considered highly competitive at CLT partner colleges.3

Where the CLT Is Accepted

The CLT has expanded from a network of private classical colleges into a test recognized by several public university systems:

  • Florida: Florida's public university system has accepted CLT scores since 2023
  • North Carolina: The UNC System approved the CLT for fall 2027 applicants who have a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher
  • Texas: As of August 1, 2026, Texas public universities can consider CLT scores for holistic review of non-auto-admit applicants
  • Military service academies: All five U.S. service academies — West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy — accept CLT scores for their 2027 admissions cycle, ending more than 50 years when the SAT and ACT were the only options4
  • Arkansas and Oklahoma: Both states accept CLT at their public universities
  • Private colleges: More than 350 private, liberal arts, and faith-based colleges nationwide have formal CLT partnerships

Who Should Actually Look at the CLT

The CLT is worth researching if you match one or more of these situations:

  • You attend a classical, religious, or Great Books high school where the CLT passages align with your coursework
  • Your SAT or ACT scores fall below your GPA and classroom performance suggest they should
  • You are applying to military service academies
  • Your target list includes private colleges that already formally accept the CLT
  • You are a Texas applicant who doesn't qualify for automatic admission and want to give admissions officers another data point

The CLT is a weaker choice if you're applying primarily to large public flagships outside the states listed above, or to highly selective private universities. Ivy League schools, MIT, Stanford, and most top-30 privates have not indicated they will consider CLT scores.

You can take both the CLT and the SAT or ACT and submit whichever score is stronger. But verify each school's policy first — some CLT partner schools still ask for at least one official SAT or ACT score as part of the application.

What to Do Right Now

If you are a current senior (applying fall 2026) in Texas, Florida, North Carolina, or any state whose public university system accepts the CLT:

  1. Confirm the specific university's current testing policy before registering — coordinating board guidance does not guarantee every campus will accept CLT scores this cycle
  2. Review CLT test dates at the official CLT website — the exam is offered online multiple times per year
  3. Compare the CLT format with the SAT and ACT before choosing which to prioritize; the passage content is genuinely different, not just a stylistic variation
  4. If you plan to apply to military service academies, the CLT is now officially on the table alongside the SAT and ACT

The CLT is still early in the data collection process that would let universities confidently calibrate its scores. The faster that data accumulates — and UT Austin's freshmen trial is one step in that direction — the faster formal policy will spread to more states and schools. Whether you end up taking it or not, it is now a legitimate option worth knowing about.

For more on what colleges look for in applicants beyond test scores, and how to decide whether to submit test scores to schools that still allow choice, those resources lay out the broader context.

Footnotes

  1. Texas Tribune. (2026, July 27). Conservative-favored college entrance exams allowed in Texas. Texas Tribune. https://www.texastribune.org/2026/07/27/conservative-college-entrance-exam-texas-universty-admissions/ ↩

  2. KBTX. (2026, July 29). New College Entrance Exam "Classic Learning Test" Faces "Moderate Risk" Label from Texas A&M Experts. KBTX. https://www.kbtx.com/2026/07/29/new-college-entrance-exam-classic-learning-test-faces-moderate-risk-label-texas-am-experts/ ↩

  3. Classic Learning Test. (2026). CLT scoring guide. cltexam.com ↩

  4. The Hill. (2026). US service academies accept Classic Learning Test. The Hill. https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5504747-us-service-academies-accept-clt/ ↩