ANNAPOLIS, MD, UNITED STATES, July 24, 2026 — Under the leadership of Chair Stacy Hock, Vice Chair Welcome Wilson, and Commissioner Wynn Rosser, a July 22 vote by THECB has determined that Texas public colleges and universities may now accept CLT scores for admission.
According to guidance issued today by Commissioner Rosser to university Chancellors and Presidents, admissions offices “may currently consider standardized testing scores, including the CLT, as a factor in making admission decisions for first-time freshman who do not qualify for automatic admission…”
The THECB will now work to update automatic admissions rules to align with this decision no later than January 2027.
“We are grateful to Texas policymakers who are expanding assessment choices, opening a free market to competition, and ending policies that protect the SAT/ACT duopoly,” said Jeremy Tate, CLT’s founder and CEO. “We look forward to working with Texas’ outstanding universities.”
In 2025, Rep. Terri Leo-Wilson and Sen. Mayes Middleton filed and passed SB 1241, which struck the names of the SAT and ACT out of the law governing admissions to Texas public universities. Gov. Greg Abbott supported and signed the bill. THECB studied all exams and found that CLT is “of sufficient rigor and reliability to be used as criterion for college admissions in this state.”
CLT’s Verbal Reasoning and Grammar/Writing sections draw from our Author Bank to assess writing, analysis, and logical thinking. CLT’s Quantitative Reasoning section measures proficiency in complex arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and mathematical reasoning without calculators. CLT is the only assessment aligned with Texas’ efforts to restore the use of rigorous instructional materials and classic literary works. While nearly 200,000 CLTs are administered annually, only one student has ever earned a perfect score on the test.
For these reasons, the legislative champions who authored SB 1241 recently wrote: “We encourage THECB to recognize the Classic Learning Test for college admissions in Texas. CLT poses a rigorous challenge to students…. Our children will rise or fall to the standard to which we hold them. For too long, education standards have declined. We must reestablish the highest standard of excellence to preserve Texas’ leadership in the nation and world.”
Today, Texas joins Florida, Arkansas, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, and Oklahoma in recognizing CLT for public university admissions.
Texas universities accepting CLT scores for admissions consideration beginning August 1 include:
- The University of Texas System
- Texas A&M University System
- University of Houston System
- Texas State University System
- Texas Tech University System
- University of North Texas System
- Texas Woman’s University
- Texas Southern University