By Catrina Barker contributior
The Center Square

An Illinois congressman is pushing to expand testing options at U.S. service academies, a move experts say could revive academic rigor and expand access for classical students.

U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Illinois, introduced legislation that would require the nation’s military academies, including West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy, to accept the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as an alternative to the ACT and SAT.

“America’s service academies should represent the highest ideals of our nation – courage, integrity, and intellect. The Classic Learning Test upholds those same ideals,” said Miller in a news release. “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.”

Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman senior research fellow in education policy at the Heritage Foundation, said the move could mark a significant shift toward higher academic standards in admissions.

“The CLT adds an important new option for families in addition to the SAT and ACT,” he said. “It places greater emphasis on logic and geometry, which sets it apart from traditional tests, and its reading sections use more rigorous excerpts than those found on the SAT or ACT.”

The CLT, founded in 2015, focuses on classic Western texts and promotes critical thinking and moral reasoning. While 200–300 colleges accept it, military academies still require the ACT or SAT. The new legislation would change that.

Critics have argued that emphasizing classical texts could narrow diversity in applicant pools, but Butcher dismissed that argument as misguided.

“I mean, saying it’s going to limit diversity is absolutely the soft bigotry of low expectations,” Butcher said. “Just because we’re trying to have students from ethnically diverse backgrounds, does that mean we shouldn’t hold them to high standards? That’s remarkably biased and pompous. The goal should be to challenge students and ensure those who enter higher education are truly prepared. We’re not doing them any favors if we make it easy to get in, only for them to be overwhelmed and take on loans they’ll pay back for the rest of their lives.”

Butcher said requiring military academies to accept the CLT could also attract students with stronger moral and intellectual formation, qualities central to military leadership.

“I think there will still be students using other standardized tests,” he said. “But this opens the door for students with backgrounds that are very different from what traditional schools offer today. Most public schools no longer require Latin or the study of classical texts like Socrates and other early Western writings,” said Butcher. “I would hope that students from the growing number of classical schools become a larger part of the applicant pool for military academies.”

Butcher noted that the CLT promotes critical thinking over rote memorization, potentially moving students away from the “test prep culture” that rewards short-term strategies rather than genuine intellectual growth.

“You know, the test prep culture encourages students to take extra classes for the SAT or ACT,” Butcher said. “For those who are motivated and work hard, that’s a helpful opportunity. But the bigger issue is that many high schools assume every student is headed to college, and that’s the wrong assumption.

Butcher stressed that students should be prepared for paths that fit their readiness and goals, and warned that sending them to college unprepared can do more harm than good.