Competition Coming for the SAT, ACT, AP, and International Baccalaureate

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Commentary

For far too long, K–12 education has been dominated by monopolies—the public education system, state standardized testing, the SAT and ACT college entrance exams, Advanced Placement, and the International Baccalaureate program. The result has been soaring educational costs, declining quality, and a lack of innovation, all to the detriment of students nationwide.

But one company, Classic Learning Test, is bent on bringing competitive alternatives to break up those monopolies, which have been watered down in quality and infused with woke ideologies. The Classic Learning Test (CLT) “exists to reconnect knowledge and virtue by providing meaningful assessments and connections to seekers of truth, goodness, and beauty.” To the surprise of many, the CLT isn’t just for students of classical education, and it isn’t the only exam offered by the company.

Currently, the CLT offers grade-level tests for students in third through eighth grades, the CLT10 for students in ninth and 10th grades as an alternative to the PSAT, and the CLT for 11th-grade students as the long-overdue competition for the SAT and ACT exams. With more than 300 colleges and universities already accepting the CLT, it’s quickly becoming a welcomed option.

In October 2025, CLT announced plans to create Enduring Courses as an alternative to Advanced Placement (AP) courses. There are 43 AP courses, and CLT plans to tackle this endeavor, starting with the humanities-related AP exams. Despite that many colleges recognize that AP courses and tests lack content and rigor, they continue to accept them because no other choices exist.

Jeremy Tate, founder of CLT, said: “Testing is not just an evaluative tool, but it is a pedagogical tool as well. The tests really do teach.”

It’s one more reason why tests must be high-quality.

This week, CLT made another major announcement, in partnership with Arcadia Education, a forward-thinking national education consulting firm. CLT plans to create “a robust alternative” to the International Baccalaureate, which will be called the Classical Baccalaureate. It will include a comprehensive curriculum along with teacher and school leadership support and training. Existing classical education schools and new schools can adopt the Classical Baccalaureate for their academic offerings. Additionally, existing non-classical education schools can transition to delivering a classical education for students when this offering becomes available.

Arcadia Education initially presented the idea of the Classical Baccalaureate to CLT after developing the core structure of the offering, knowing that CLT would be able to bring it to market with excellence.

Erik Twist, president of Arcadia Education, said, “CLT and Arcadia are equally committed to the renewal of our country’s education system, and the Classical Baccalaureate represents the clearest opportunity for public schools to access and faithfully implement classical education.”

The two organizations worked collaboratively for months to incubate the new model. Along the way, it was determined that a key member of Arcadia Education should join the CLT team to facilitate the idea to full fruition.

Alex Julian from Arcadia Education joined CLT in January to spearhead the Classical Baccalaureate undertaking, including curriculum development. Julian explains that Classical Baccalaureate is “designed to help provide an entire ecosystem of K–12 classical education resources: curriculum, teacher and leadership training, 3rd-11th grade testing, and accreditation so that educators who are interested in this model can be successful.”

As parental demand for education choice outside the traditional district public school systems continues, it’s not parents just seeking a different school; many want an alternative type of education altogether for their children, as mainstream education has largely failed to deliver high-quality learning. For many parents, classical education is top of the list. However, the supply of classical schools is still rather limited.

The testing and curriculum monopolies served as gatekeepers, hindering the expansion of alternative education options. For example, despite the uniqueness of the classical education model, when students must take state standardized tests, teachers are forced to use curriculum and instruction aligned with those tests. In upper grades, the same scenario occurs when states allow only the traditional SAT and ACT exams.

Florida is taking the lead with advancing legislation that is pro-classical education. For example, in 2022, the Hamilton School for Classical and Civic Education at the University of Florida was established. In 2023, legislation was signed into law allowing Florida students to take the CLT to fulfill high school graduation requirements and to use it as an admissions exam accepted for entrance into all of the state’s public universities.

Then, in 2024, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1285 into law, which “empowers aspiring teachers to obtain a classical teacher certificate developed by the State Board of Education.” The latest example is the Florida Institute for Classical Education, which connects schools and individuals with “resources, insights, and fellow practitioners across the state.”

With Florida and 16 other states enacting universal school choice over the past five years, the residentially assigned public school monopoly is breaking down. And thanks to the work of CLT, the testing and curriculum monopolies will in due time become a thing of the past. Together, these shifts reflect an irreversible move toward an education system built on choice, competition, intellectual freedom, and a return to the Western tradition.

From RealClearWire