More questions have come in about the CLT, because the world is watching. I will try to answer more misunderstandings, but I am only on the advisory board. If you are really sincere, I encourage you to reach out to CLT, look at the test questions, and find more clear answers. Using the media as your ONLY source of information may not give you a complete picture of something that is much more complex/nuanced than many understand. Well here are a few more myths to dispel:
Myth #8: They have people on their board that I feel are racist, so the test is racist. Truth: The CLT Exam is a really new effort, when you compare it to the longevity of the SAT, etc. Part of that effort includes welcoming ALL voices. I will be honest and say that I am not a fan of some board members. More than once I have questioned if I should be part of a board where a few of its members openly discount my history and human experience. Then I remember the importance of creating space for multiple perspectives. I am here to argue for my community and to take up this space. I also hope that God could use my voice to change the hearts and minds of those who may have unhealthy beliefs about racial issues, especially within the world of Classical Christian Education (ya’ll already know I be strugglin’ up in here). CLT is made up of so many different people that for the first time we are all here engaged in this conversation about classically educating ALL children. All of us have different perspectives on that and some of us may even dislike one another because of those differences, yet something is being created that can provide a unique testing experience for students. It reminds me of how some of those who founded America, did not like one another and even argued about what this new country should look like. I think of how MLK and Malcolm X did not agree with one another, but in the end came to respect and support one another because they kept being present and engaging with one another. We live in a world where no one actually talks to one another, yet we judge one another by what we post on social media or who we seem to associate with. The CLT Exam hosts online and in person events for all of us who are connected to this work, to engage in civil discourse about education, classical education and humanity. Those times of coming together also lead to discussions about the formulation of the test. It’s a new process and we are just getting started. My prayer is that if we all have the courage to keep being here, something good will come from the conversation that can inspire ALL of us in the future.
Myth #9: Nothing good can come from something that is approved by the state of Florida. Truth: Up until now, not one state would open its doors to including the CLT as an entrance exam for state colleges. At a meeting we held about 2 years ago, one of our strategic moves was to try and get legislation involved with the test in some way. No matter which side took up the mantle with this, we agreed that whatever door opened to us would be the one we took to break CLT into college acceptance. As a woman who has never been, nor ever will be a Republican, we are thankful that someone opened the door. My students take the CLT exam and each of them found it to be a more meaningful experience than other standardized tests. I wonder if it is because of the readings? We have not quite researched how and why the test emotionally affects students, and neither have I looked deeply into how the questions differ from the SAT or other standardized tests, but we do know that none of them came out of the test wanting to make DeSantis president or rejecting their Black heritage. Not one student came to want to support White supremacy. No one decided to become a Republican OR a Democrat. It is simply another kind of standardized test, that many students who have had a classical education can connect to. Somehow the experience seemed familiar to them. Now, Florida has opened its doors to the CLT Exam, which means possibly others now will too. This moment could be a catalyst for changing the rigidity of only allowing the College Board to control everything. Is that a bad thing? Remember this is just another alternative to taking an entrance exam or standardized test. Our democracy is not threatened by opening up testing options for college entrance. In fact, increasing the number of choices in the area of standardized testing is a perfect demonstration of democracy.
Myth #10: The test is supposed to assess the knowledge of classics, the canon, and/or the Western tradition. Truth: The test is not called the CLASSICAL Learning Test, the CLASSICS Learning Test, or the Western Tradition Learning Test for a reason. It is called the CLASSIC Learning Test. It is not an assessment of students’ knowledge of those areas. It’s a subtle yet intentional name that seeks to encompass a broad range of important literary traditions that could appear on any given test. A CLASSIC is something that is timeless, like jazz, the older Mustangs, or those Reeboks I used to wear in high school. It transcends racial lines and cultural evolution. The CLT includes reading excerpts from various literary traditions, with the Western Canon as its foundation. This means that most of the readings will come from Plato, Aristotle, Shakespeare or Jane Austin, but it may also come from Gandhi, DuBois or Confucious. This may seem insignificant, but it could accomplish 2 things:
- Provide a student with a momentary exposure to a piece of meaningful literature outside of their human experience that they may want to read in full after the test.
- Encourage schools to begin to teach the type of literature to prepare students for taking the test. (Now that would be amazing….)
Both of the above possibilities could bring about a revolutionary experience in students’ education. There are no promises here, but the intent is a noble one, I believe.
I’ll let you all chew on that for a bit and as more questions come my way, I will post more myths to dispel. I know that I will be judged as catering to those who are not necessarily champions for my community but here is a personal testimony. The first time I had my students take the test, they each were sent college acceptance letters by several schools. The community of colleges that support the CLT Exam is so close knit, that when our students take the exam, college opportunities open up for them. When those colleges came after my students, you should have seen the joy on the students’ and their parents’ faces. It was life changing. This is who I am serving…my students. The CLT Exam exposed my students to colleges they may have not ever heard of, but are a good match because of the classical education they have received. Anything that I see opens up more opportunities for my babies (yes all my students are my babies!!), I will always champion, even at the risk of being misunderstood.
Dr. Anika T. Prather 