CLT3-8 Exams:
Information for At-Home Testing
This page is designed to help with ordering, accessing, and administering your CLT3-8 exams. The information on this page applies only to tests purchased for individual use at home. If you are a school administrator, please see this page for ordering assistance.
If you are planning to order through Step Up for Students, please see this page for more instructions.
CLT provides two testing windows a year for CLT3-8 students, one in the fall and one in the spring. We recommend students test once in the fall and once in the spring to get the most accurate information regarding their progress. You are welcome to only order for one testing window if you would like.
CLT3-8 exams can be ordered through the CLT website. When registration is open, the dates will be listed on this page with a button linking to the order page.
If exams are ordered before the testing window, parents will be notified via email once the window has opened and the exams are available. If the order is placed during the window, the tests will be available within 2 business days after the order is placed. The registration deadline is approximately one week before the end of the testing window. Please see this page for the specific deadline.
We recommend that students take the exam that corresponds to their grade. For example, a student in 4th grade should take a CLT4 whether they are testing in the fall or in the spring.
CLT3-8 exams 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.
Administering exams twice in one year allows educators to establish a baseline and 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.
Yes, all exams are nationally normed using Lexile and Quantile measures. All exams will report these measures for students along with national user percentile norms. More than 35 million students in the United States receive Lexile and Quantile measures each academic year.
A testing window allows flexibility in administering exams. The window is generally between 4-12 weeks long and means that the exams can be administered to students on any day(s) during this period. The test must be completed by the last day of the window.
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.
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.
We would encourage parents to read through the proctor scripts before they give the tests to their students. The manuals can be found on the CLT3-8 dashboard under "Test Resources".
When you log in, you may see the upper grade side of the dashboard originally. You can leave the profile on this page blank or input your name. If you already have a 9th-12th grade test taker under the same email address, their information will appear here. The profile information must remain that of your high school student in order to accurately reflect their testing data. The name on the account will not impact the score reporting for CLT3-8 students.
When you administer the test to your CLT3-8 student, they will enter their first and last name and date of birth, and this what will associate the exam and subsequent scores with your student.
To navigate between the high school and CLT3-8 dashboards, you will need to click the toggle in the top left corner of the page.
In order to test, students must use a laptop or desktop computer with access to Wifi and have Firefox, Chrome, Edge, or Safari 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 responsible adult (age 21 or older) who will proctor the exam.
We have a demo test and sample tests available so educators can familiarize themselves with the platform and content. The demo test can be accessed at https://test.cltexam.com/ with access code DemoTest. This Demo allows testers and educators to see and practice with the online interface they will use on test day for any of the CLT3-8 exams.
This test is unscored and does not provide answers. The Demo Test contains 10 sample questions per section with the difficulty reflecting our third grade test, the CLT3.
Sample tests are provided for educators to view the type of content and questions that are representative of that exam level.
Practice for CLT3-8 exams is not recommended as the exams are meant to provide information about a student's current level of performance to assist educators in meeting the educational needs of their students.
Educators will receive log in instructions via email to their online test manager dashboard. For each exam type purchased, a unique test access code is provided on the dashboard which students will use to access the online exams. Students will enter their identifying information when they start to test, thereby allowing multiple CLT3-8 students to be associated with the same email.
The Online Test Administration Manual and proctor scripts for CLT3-6 and CLT7-8 can be found on your CLT dashboard. You will need to read the proctor scripts while you give your students the exam. If you have ordered multiple exam types, please pay attention to any differences between them.
How does the administration of CLT3-6 exams differ from the administration of CLT7 and CLT8 exams?
CLT3-6 exams 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. If you do take the test in multiple sittings, ensure that your student enters their information correctly each time.
CLT7 and CLT8 exams are intended for 7th and 8th grade, respectively, and have required timing lasting 135 minutes. Both exams contain three sections and must be completed in one sitting with a short break between sections 2 and 3.
Who proctors the exams?
A responsible adult (age 21 or older) must proctor the at-home, online CLT3-8 exams. This can include parents or guardians. The Online Test Administration Manual and proctor scripts for CLT3-6 and CLT7-8 can be found on the CLT dashboard. Please take time to review these materials before proctoring your student's exam.
Can I administer these assessments to multiple students at one time?
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.
What does “recommended timing” mean for CLT3-6? Is there a time limit?
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).
How do testing accommodations work for the CLT3-8?
It is the responsibility of schools, co-ops, and homeschool parents to provide accommodations for CLT3-8 that reflect what the student requires in their typical educational environment in order to equally access the exam. No application is necessary for CLT3-8 accommodations, but accommodations for high school level exams (CLT10 and CLT) require pre-approval by our team. Please contact cltaccommodations@cltexam.com if you have any questions.
Student score reports will be available on your CLT dashboard under "Analytics" at 2 PM ET two days after the the test is submitted. If you do not see them, be sure you are logging into the correct account. If you are still having trouble, feel free to contact info@cltexam.com.
How do I interpret CLT3-8 analytics?
Our CLT3-8 Analytics Guide is a helpful resource for understanding test results. To watch a video explanation of CLT3-8 analytics, click here.
How can I download the score reports?
Please watch this video for instructions on how to download your CLT analytics.
Can I test my student twice in the same testing period?
We do not recommend your students test more than once in the same testing period. The test content for each type does not change, so the second set of analytics would not be an accurate reflection of the student's knowledge.
We hope this has helped answer your questions about ordering, accessing, and administering CLT3-8 exams! Please reach out to info@cltexam.com if you have any more questions.
