Colleen Hroncich
Colleen Hroncich
In early 2018, I received an email from our local Christian academy with “Exciting Opportunity” in the subject line. “We are excited to introduce you to a refreshing new development in classical Christian education: the Classic Learning Test (CLT),” the email began. At the time, according to the email, the test was accepted by nearly 90 colleges and universities.
That fall, my daughter took the Classic Learning Test as she was applying to colleges. Little did we know how the CLT would take off in the coming years. It is now accepted by more than 250 colleges and universities for admissions and scholarships.
The Classic Learning Test features readings from classic literature and historical texts that have shaped Western culture. The test was created in 2015 by a teacher, Jeremy Tate, who had learned to appreciate classical education despite not growing up with it. “I first discovered classical literature when I was living in a tent in Alaska in 2001. I had no other form of entertainment and spent countless hours reading the works of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky,” he recalls. “After graduating from LSU I went to Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) where I was more fully immersed in the classical tradition. The formation I received at RTS shaped my vision for education and profoundly inspired the launching of the Classic Learning Test.”
In 2013, while teaching evening classes to eleventh-grade students who had failed English, Jeremy looked through the materials and realized why the students were bored and disconnected. He completely re-vamped the class, getting rid of the textbooks and buying the students copies of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories. Each evening, they formed a circle, read out loud, and paused when anyone wanted to discuss the reading. It completely changed the dynamics of the class—students who previously were completely uninterested in the material became enthusiastic when they were given readings that delved into topics like religion, » Read More
https://www.cato.org/blog/friday-feature-classic-learning-test