Now Launching CLT Student Appreciation Week

As I’ve shared before, I worked for some years as a teacher in American public schools. It was this that inspired me to found the Classic Learning Test. I was so disappointed and frustrated with the poor quality of the education these schools were offering, and with the way it deadened my students’ native curiosity and enthusiasm, I just didn’t want to be part of that system any more. I wanted to do more as an educator, because I believe they deserve more.

Almost six and a half years later, the CLT is thriving, and so are our students! We’ve created an exam that is both more rigorous and more accessible than its competitors, and—above all—one that students actually show interest in, because it puts them in front of authors and ideas that deserve their interest. We actually believe that students are capable of great things, if they’re given a chance; and our faith has been rewarded many times over, above all with our first ever perfect score on the CLT just last year!

I want to say thank you to every student who has tested with us. As a gesture of our gratitude, we’re dedicating this week of March as Student Appreciation Week. In addition to publishing special content on our students and our philosophy of education, we’re also putting up a student contribution to the Journal not just on Friday, but every day this week.

I couldn’t be prouder of you all, or happier with the positive influence we’re having on American education! At the end of the day, this is what matters about our work—opening students up to the world of ideas, where they get a chance to fulfill the potential that we know they have. As Apollo told the son of Æneas, I now repeat to every CLT student: