Abstract
"Jeremy Tate remembers when he tried to inspire his high-school students with talk of great things. 'I wanted them to understand the importance of their education.' Then a girl spoke up: 'Why would it matter if it’s not on the SAT?' Her question has haunted him ever since--and it also roused him to found the Classic Learning Test (CLT), a company that seeks to challenge the duopoly of the ACT and the SAT, the pair of tests that dominate the world of college-entrance exams and increasingly dictate the content of America’s school curricula. Two years ago, only about 1,000 students took the CLT, and few college admissions officers even knew what it was. Last year, more than 10,000 took it, and more than 100 schools accepted it on applications. Tate hopes for 35,000 test-takers this school year, and possibly 100,000 within three years." (National Review) The author reports on how the CLT was started as an "alternative for parents and teachers whose vision of learning differs sharply from what goes on in most of America's classrooms" and how the continued success of it "may even persuade some schools to return to more traditional content."