Republican’s bill requires military academies accept Classic Learning Test

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., has introduced legislation that would require U.S. service academies and federally operated secondary schools to incorporate a new standardized test based on classical learning principles.

The Promoting Classical Learning Act of 2025, introduced in the House on Nov. 3, would direct West Point, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy and other service academies to accept the Classic Learning Test (CLT) alongside the SAT and ACT for admissions. 

It would also require federally-run schools to administer the exam to 11th grade students.

“America’s service academies should represent the highest ideals of our nation — courage, integrity, and intellect. The Classic Learning Test upholds those same ideals,” Miller said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “Requiring our military academies to accept the CLT will help cultivate a new generation of leaders who are not only exceptionally capable but deeply grounded in the principles that make America strong.”

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“The College Board claims to be neutral, but pressures schools to adopt leftist curricula while censoring right-of-center materials,” Miller’s office said in a summary of the legislation. “The CLT validates the educational choices of millions of families nationwide who choose private, religious, classical, and homeschool models.”

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Miller introduced the measure in partnership with Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind. The bill would compel both the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to administer the CLT to all 11th grade students in their school systems.

According to Miller’s office, the proposal would codify Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s earlier directive that U.S. service academies begin accepting the CLT starting with the 2027 admissions cycle, a policy the Pentagon formally announced in September 2025.

Created in 2015 by Jeremy Tate, the CLT assesses reading, writing and math skills using classical texts drawn from the Western canon. Supporters describe it as an alternative to the Common Core-aligned SAT and ACT. 

More than 320 colleges and universities nationwide now accept CLT scores, and Florida and Arkansas have approved the exam for use in public schools. Miller’s office says more than 120,000 students in Florida have taken the test since September 2023.

“The College Board acts as a taxpayer-funded monopoly that dictates the curriculum for schoolchildren despite being unelected and unaccountable,” Miller’s summary continues.

“This bill codifies Secretary Hegseth’s directive to military academies to accept the CLT beginning in 2027.”

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Miller’s office says the legislation is designed to break up that monopoly and expand access to “classical testing” for students in federal schools, offering what it calls a rigorous, standards-based alternative rooted in logic and timeless literature.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.