A Senate committee discussed Senate Bill 695, which would require state institutions of higher education to accept the Classic Learning Test (CLT) as an alternative to other standardized admissions tests. Committee members heard from Matt Turner of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, who urged caution and asked for time to study test administration, comparability to ACT/SAT scoring and implications for merit-based financial aid.

Counsel summarized the bill as requiring state institutions to accept the CLT, described in testimony as a standardized test developed in 2015 that can be taken online or in school and issues scores rapidly. Senators raised concerns about test security and whether an online option would provide the same supervision and verification used by long-established exams such as the SAT and ACT. Matt Turner said institutions are largely test-optional post-pandemic and that his office needs more information on how the CLT is administered and how scores crosswalk to the ACT and SAT for financial-aid purposes: "We do have some questions about how it is administered," he told the committee.

The vice chair asked unanimous consent to withdraw a motion to report the bill; that request was granted. The committee then voted to hold Senate Bill 695 over to a future meeting to allow the Higher Education Policy Commission and institutions to provide more information.

What happens next: the bill was not reported out; the committee laid it over to a future meeting pending additional review by HEPC and member questions about administration and financial-aid comparability.