Classic or not, what is the point of a standardized test and why should you (and your student) care?
The Classic Learning Test (CLT) gives the school administration and teachers another look at our students’ academic abilities and achievements from outside of our own institution. From a curriculum planning perspective, the CLT offers another point of reference to help the Academy determine areas that need to be firmed up or addressed differently. In these ways, it serves both the student and the teachers.
The CLT serves the student by giving him a chance to apply his skill and knowledge to a different mode of assessment. In this way, it gives a student another snapshot of his growth each year he attends Cedar Classical Academy. No matter where a student starts, his CLT should demonstrate annual gains. This serves the student as an additional encouragement that the sweat of his brow is not in vain.Â
The CLT serves the school by giving objective feedback on how we are growing as a school. It does this by showing us the areas of the curriculum where we need to improve or the areas in which teachers need to provide extra support. We chose the CLT instead of the ACT/SAT because it better aligns with our curriculum and requires from students a deeper application of what he has learned instead of a regurgitation of facts or processes. This skillset is more in line with the goals of classical education. Likewise, the CLT uses texts and information from classical sources. This content better aligns with what students are seeing every day in the classical classroom. The CLT gives the school valuable data which we can then use as another point of reference in making curricular decisions to support what teachers are already doing in the classroom.