Administering CLT3-8 at Home

CLT3, CLT4, CLT5, CLT6, CLT7, and CLT8 are designed to be offered up to two times per year. In the fall, exams are scored using a norm referencing group of students at the beginning of their year. For example, a 5th grade student taking the CLT5 in the fall is compared to other 5th grade students who have just begun their 5th grade coursework. In the spring, that fifth grader will also take the spring form of the CLT5, but at that point, he will be compared against other students who are completing their course work for 5th grade.

By testing twice in one year, educators are able to measure their students’ progress in the key areas of reading, writing, and math, along with gauging their ability to apply reason to those subjects.

CLT3, CLT4, CLT5 and CLT6 have recommended timing of 2 to 3 hours total. The test can be split up over several days, but individual sections must be completed in one sitting. The entire test must be completed within two weeks of beginning it.

CLT7 and CLT8 have required timing and the entire test must be completed in one sitting. The CLT7 and CLT8 are intended for 7th and 8th grade, respectively, and are timed, lasting 135 minutes. Both exams contain three sections and must be completed in one sitting with a short break between sections 2&3.

In order to test, students must use a laptop or desktop computer with access to Wifi and have Firefox, Safari, or Chrome browsers installed on their device. The test may also be taken on a tablet; however, the display is designed for a laptop or desktop computer so we recommend using one of those.

Students are also required to have a parent or guardian present who will proctor the exam.

Parents or guardians serve as the proctors for the at-home, online CLT3-8 exams. Prior to the testing window, they will be provided with detailed instructions on how to administer the tests.

The four-week testing window for CLT3-8 means that the exams can be administered to students on any day(s) during this period.

CLT3-6 have recommended timing and the test may be split up over several days, although individual sections must be completed in a single sitting. CLT7 and CLT8 have required timing and the entire test must be completed in one sitting.

Before the testing window, parent proctors will receive instructions to log in to an online account where the test(s) can be accessed. For each exam they have purchased, parent proctors will also receive a test access code which their student will use to access the online exam. This access code will expire at the end of the testing window.

If you have purchased multiple tests–for example, one CLT3 and one CLT5–they do not need to be administered on the same day, as long as each student tests within the testing window.

Parent proctors will receive instructions to log in to an online account where the all of the test(s) they have purchased can be accessed. For each exam they have purchased, parent proctors will also receive a unique test access code which students will use to access the online exams.

Yes. For example, parents with one student in 3rd grade and another in 8th grade can proctor both exams at the same time.

However, please note that the format of CLT3, CLT4, CLT5, and CLT6 differ from the format of CLT7 and CLT8. CLT3-6 have recommended timing and can be administered over the course of several days, although each section must be administered in one sitting. CLT7 and CLT8 have required timing and must be completed in one sitting.

Yes, all exams are nationally normed using Lexile and Quantile measures. All exams will report Lexile and Quantile measures for students along with the Lexile and Quantile national user percentile norms. This will allow parents to see how their student’s score compares to the national user percentiles for Lexile and Quantile measures. More than 35 million students in the United States receive Lexile and Quantile measures each academic year.

While a full practice test is not available, an online test demo can be viewed at https://test.cltexam.com/ with access code DemoTest. This test is unscored and does not provide correct answers. The Demo Test contains only 10 sample questions per section. Additionally, the question difficulty level reflects our third grade test, the CLT3. However, it will allow testers and test managers to see and practice with the online interface they will use on test day for any of the CLT3-8 exams.

While the CLT3-6 is not strictly timed, it is important for test managers to plan accordingly for the exam. It is also helpful to have time recommendations so students can stay focused and complete sections in a timely way, as intended.

Test managers do not have to cut off a student’s access to the test at the end of the recommended time (like they would with a required time test), but students should be encouraged to work within the recommended time frames barring special circumstances (e.g. students who require extended time accommodations for disabilities).

It is the responsibility of schools, co-ops, and homeschool parents to provide accommodations for CLT3-8 that reflect what the student requires in normal classroom settings in order to equally access the exam. Please contact cltaccommodations@cltexam.com if you have any questions.

Our CLT3-8 Analytics Guide is a helpful resource for understanding test results.