Republican lawmakers propose a bill that would provide a conservative alternative to the SAT, ACT

Ohio Republican lawmakers introduced a bill proposing an alternative to the SAT and ACT college entrance exams, which conservatives approved and Democrats opposed.

After passing the state House earlier this year, House Bill 326, which intends to add the Classic Learning Test as a college admissions exam offered by Ohio high schools, is now under consideration by the Senate, according to the Statehouse News Bureau.

The bill would allow the CLT to be used alongside the SAT and ACT, as well as “any other valid, reliable, nationally norm-referenced exam used for college admission,” the text of the bill said.

Even though it is very similar to the ACT and SAT, the CLT differs from these two tests in that the test’s reading sections include works by Christian saints, philosophers, and scholars, the news source reported.

State Rep. Kevin Ritter, R-Marietta, one of the bill’s joint sponsors, told the Bureau that the CLT is proven, reliable, and valid, adding that university systems in Indiana, North Carolina, and Georgia have begun using the CLT as an alternative to the SAT and ACT for admissions.

Among other states that have adopted the CLT as an alternative to the entrance exam are Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming, according to the news source.

“The CLT is the preferred alternative for the homeschool and private school communities because it aligns with the traditional education values of logic, reasoning, and moral philosophy,” Ritter said on the House floor in February.

According to the lawmaker, the Ohio colleges and universities that accept this test as an alternative to the SAT and the ACT will “have a distinct advantage in recruiting out-of-state students who choose this assessment, allowing Ohio school districts to administer the CLT alongside other standardized assessments for 11th graders.”

State Rep. Jonathan Newman, R-Troy, another sponsor of the bill, said in his testimony to the House Education Committee that “taking this step will be good for Ohio colleges and universities since there has been a groundswell of increased demand for classical learning among Ohio’s parents and students.”

“The Heritage Foundation lists 24 schools currently offering classical education in Ohio. Additionally, across the U.S., there are now more than 1,500 public, private, and charter schools serving nearly 700,000 students. It is projected that by 2035, that number could reach 2,600 schools, enrolling well over a million students,” he said. “Taking this step will position Ohio institutions to attract those students.”

The Bureau reported that most Ohio Democrats opposed the bill. Among those lawmakers was state Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, a former high school teacher, who told the news source that it would be pointless to normalize the new test because colleges and universities are largely abandoning standardized tests for admission anyway.

“The tests often reflect the student’s access to resources like private tutoring or test prep, which are very expensive, I might add, more than their actual readiness for college,” he said. “Why would we codify another standardized test into statute? If anything, we should be moving in the opposite direction toward recognizing that learning, creativity, and potential can’t be captured in a few hours in a multiple-choice exam.”

Brennan also told The Bureau that only 12 private colleges and universities in Ohio use the CLT.

In addition to all House Republicans, three Democrats voted for the bill. The fate of the bill will now be decided by the state Senate.

The news source reported that the CLT, launched by the company Classic Learning Initiatives in 2015, has been used by half a million students since 2016. Additionally, over 300 colleges and universities accepted it. The Pentagon also announced this year that U.S. service academies will start in 2027.