Test Prep · CLT · Quantitative Reasoning section
CLT Quantitative Reasoning
The math section of the Classic Learning Test: algebra, geometry with trigonometry, and mathematical reasoning, all without a calculator.
- 40 questions
- 45 minutes
- about 68 s a question
- No calculator
- 4 choices
Timed mixed set
Questions from every area, at the real pace of about 68 seconds a question. Answer in any order, flag questions to come back to, and see everything at the end.
You can hide the timer at any time during the set. Your time on each question is kept for your results either way. No calculator, as on the real CLT: every problem in these sets is meant to be done by hand.
Practice by area
Ten questions from one area, untimed, with the steps after each answer.
About the CLT Quantitative Reasoning section
- 40 questions in 45 minutes, about 68 seconds a question. CLT overview for school administrators · How long does the test take? · CLT Sample Test
- No calculator is allowed. CLT overview for school administrators · CLT Sample Test
- Every question is multiple choice with four choices, A through D. CLT Sample Test
- Basic formulas are given, including basic trigonometric functions and identities. Figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Assessment Content Brief for the CLT and CLT10 · CLT Sample Test
- Three domains: Algebra, Geometry (with trigonometry) and Mathematical Reasoning (logic and word problems). Assessment Content Brief for the CLT and CLT10
- The whole CLT has three sections of 40 questions (Verbal Reasoning, Grammar and Writing, Quantitative Reasoning) and takes 2 hours. Wrong answers are not penalized. CLT overview for school administrators · The CLT
- You can take it at a school or at home with remote proctoring. The CLT
As of October 17, 2026, from Classic Learning Initiatives's public pages. Tests change, so check the official page before test day.
Has the CLT changed?
Not its math. We found no recent change to the Quantitative Reasoning section on its maker's pages or in recent reporting: it is still 40 four-choice questions in 45 minutes, with no calculator. What has grown is where and how you can take it: at a school or at home with remote proctoring, many times a year. The optional essay isn't offered on the remotely proctored test. The CLT · CLT overview for school administrators · CLT vs. SAT · The Classic Learning Test Takes Aim at the SAT–ACT Duopoly
The SAT and the ACT did change: see how the SAT changed and how the ACT changed.
What's on it, and where to learn it
The content areas in our own words, from the official descriptions, with the Math Ladder topics that teach each one. The CLT doesn't publish how many questions come from each category, so our mixed sets spread questions evenly across the seven.
AlgebraArithmetic and Operations
Rules of numbers: absolute value, exponents, primes and factors, patterns in sequences, and simple probability.
- Absolute value expressions, equations and inequalities
- Properties of exponents
- Patterns and terms of sequences
- Probability of an event
- Primes, factors, even and odd, positive and negative integers
13 Math Ladder topics
- Absolute Value
- Absolute Value Equations
- Absolute Value Inequalities
- Using All the Exponent Rules
- Zero and Negative Exponents
- Rules with Fractional Exponents
- Arithmetic Sequences
- Geometric Sequences
- Theoretical Probability
- Probability of Compound Events
- Prime Factorization
- Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple
- All Four Operations with Signed Numbers
AlgebraAlgebraic Expressions and Equations
Simplifying, substituting and solving: linear and compound inequalities, quadratics with real or complex roots, and systems in two or three variables.
- Substituting values into expressions and simplifying
- Solving equations and inequalities, including compound inequalities
- Factoring and solving quadratics, with real or complex roots
- Systems of equations and inequalities in two or three variables
14 Math Ladder topics
- Evaluating Expressions with Negatives and Powers
- Variables on Both Sides
- Clearing Fractions and Decimals
- Multi-Step Inequalities
- Compound Inequalities
- Factoring x² + bx + c
- Factoring ax² + bx + c
- Solving by Factoring
- The Quadratic Formula
- Quadratics with Complex Solutions
- Elimination
- Elimination with Multiplying First
- Systems in Three Variables
- Systems of Linear Inequalities
GeometryPlane Geometry
Figures and lines in the plane: missing angles and lengths, transformations (including reflection over y = x), slopes, intercepts, and parallel and perpendicular lines.
- Missing angles and segment lengths in figures
- Transformations in the coordinate plane
- Slope from two points or an equation; intercepts
- Slopes of parallel, perpendicular, vertical and horizontal lines
12 Math Ladder topics
- Parallel Lines Cut by a Transversal
- Triangle Angle Sum and Exterior Angles
- Polygon Angle Sums
- Triangle Midsegments
- Angles and Angle Bisectors
- Reflections
- Rotations
- Precise Definitions of Rigid Motions
- The Slope Formula
- Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
- Horizontal and Vertical Lines
- Distance and Midpoint Formulas
GeometryProperties of Shapes
Triangles, polygons, circles and solids: congruence, similarity, area and circumference, and what a figure's measures force to be true.
- Triangle congruence
- Similar figures: sides, perimeters and areas
- Area and circumference of circles
- Prisms, cylinders, spheres and other solids
GeometryTrigonometry
Trig ratios in right triangles, then the unit circle, radians, identities and the graphs of trig functions.
- Trig ratios in a right triangle
- Degrees and radians; angles on the unit circle
- Simplifying with trig identities
- Graphs of trig functions
10 Math Ladder topics
- Sine, Cosine and Tangent
- Sine and Cosine of Complementary Angles
- Converting Degrees and Radians
- Exact Values at Special Angles
- Sine and Cosine on the Unit Circle
- Reference Angles and Signs by Quadrant
- The Pythagorean Identity
- Reciprocal, Quotient and Pythagorean Identities
- Double-Angle Formulas
- Graphs of Sine and Cosine
Mathematical ReasoningLogic
Reasoning from given facts to a new conclusion: if-then statements and their relatives, counterexamples, and what must be true of a number.
- True and false statements from given information
- Counterexamples
- Conclusions about an unknown number from clues
Math Ladder has fewer pure logic puzzles than the CLT uses. This area draws on if-then reasoning and number-system reasoning for now.
Mathematical ReasoningWord Problems
Real situations turned into math: percent change, ratios and rates, work together, distance and time, and a quadratic that models a launch.
- Percent increase and decrease
- Proportion, ratio and rate
- Work-rate problems
- A quadratic model of a real situation
- Spatial reasoning about real objects
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