Proposed Legislation for Standardized Testing in U.S. Military Academies

Representative Mary Miller (R-Ill.) has put forth a bill aimed at instituting new standardized testing requirements in U.S. service schools and federally operated secondary schools, drawing from classical educational principles.

The Advancing Classical Learning Act of 2025, introduced in the House on November 3, would mandate that military academies like West Point and the Naval Academy accept the Classical Learning Test (CLT) alongside traditional SAT and ACT scores for admissions. Moreover, federally run schools would need to administer tests to every 11th grader.

Miller articulated her belief, saying, “America’s service academies should embody our nation’s highest ideals of courage, integrity, and intelligence. The Classical Learning Test upholds those same ideals.” She added, “Requiring military academies to accept CLTs will help develop a new generation of leaders rooted in the principles that make America strong.”

According to a summary from Miller’s office, there are concerns that the College Board promotes left-leaning curricula while sidelining center-right perspectives. The CLT, it argues, reflects the educational preferences of numerous families opting for private, religious, classical, or homeschooling routes.

Miller collaborated with Republican Senator Jim Banks in drafting the legislation, which would require the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to apply CLT standards to 11th grade students within their jurisdictions.

This bill aims to formalize Army Secretary Pete Hegseth’s earlier directive to allow military academies to begin accepting CLTs starting with the 2027 admissions cycle. This was first disclosed by the Department of Defense back in September 2025, as noted by Miller’s team.

The CLT, developed by Jeremy Tate in 2015, assesses reading, writing, and mathematics through classical texts from the Western tradition. Supporters consider it a viable alternative to the Common Core-aligned SAT and ACT.

Currently, the CLT is accepted by over 320 colleges nationwide, and states like Florida and Arkansas have approved its use in public schools. To date, more than 120,000 students in Florida have taken the CLT since September 2023, as indicated by Miller’s office.

Miller’s summary criticizes the College Board as an unelected body acting as a monopoly affecting schoolchildren’s curricula. “This bill codifies Secretary Hegseth’s directive for military academies to accept CLTs starting in 2027,” it states.

The intent behind Miller’s proposed bill is to dismantle what she views as a monopoly and broaden access to classical testing methods within federal school systems, aiming to provide a rigorous, standards-based alternative founded on logic and classic literature.

The Pentagon has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding this new legislation.