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How CLT Scoring Works

How the CLT turns 120 questions into three section scores and a total out of 120, and what your score report shows.

Updated October 2, 2026

From questions to a score

  1. You answer 40 questions in each of three sections: Verbal Reasoning, Grammar/Writing and Quantitative Reasoning.
  2. Each correct answer earns credit. Wrong answers and blanks earn none, and nothing is subtracted for a wrong answer.
  3. CLT converts your results on each section to a scaled score from 0 to 40, adjusting for the difficulty of the form you took.
  4. The three scaled section scores are added to give your total, from 0 to 120.
Because nothing is taken off for a wrong answer, never leave a question blank. If time is running out, fill in an answer for every remaining question.

Why a raw count is not your score

Different test dates use different sets of questions, and some sets are a little harder than others. CLT uses equating so that the same scaled score reflects the same level of performance whichever form you took. That is why no single table turns a number correct into a scaled score for every date.

It is also why practice questions cannot give you an official score. Your accuracy on our practice sets tells you which skills to work on. It does not convert to a number on the 0–120 scale, and we do not show one.

What is and is not scored

Part of the testScored?
Verbal ReasoningYes, 0–40
Grammar/WritingYes, 0–40
Quantitative ReasoningYes, 0–40
Optional school essayNo. CLT does not score it; you choose whether to send its text to colleges

What your score report shows

  • Your three section scores and your total.
  • A percentile rank showing how your scores compare with other CLT test takers.
  • CLT Student Analytics, a breakdown of strengths and weaknesses across academic domains.
  • A comparison with SAT and ACT scores.

CLT separates two kinds of comparison. A percentile among CLT test takers compares you with other students who took the CLT. A national comparison relies on a link to another test’s scale, so it is an estimate. A compared SAT or ACT value is not a score you earned on that test.

CLT to SAT and ACT comparison toolCLT score range

When scores are released

How you testedWhen scores normally appear
Remote, at homeThe third Wednesday after the test
In school, online, on a weekdayThe Wednesday after the test
In school, online, on a SaturdayThe Friday after the test
In school, on paperAbout 30 days after CLT receives the answer documents
Test dates and score release datesSending scores to colleges

Score tools

These tools work from the scores on your official report. Your accuracy on practice questions can’t be turned into an official score.

CLT reported section total

Add the three scaled section scores from the same CLT report.

Open tool

CLT reported-score target

Compare a reported score with a goal you choose.

Open tool

CLT published score comparison

Look up the comparison published by CLT in its April 2023 report.

Open tool

Frequently Asked Questions

Each of the three sections gets a scaled score from 0 to 40. The total is the three section scores added together, from 0 to 120.

No. A wrong answer and a blank both earn no credit, and nothing is subtracted.

No. CLT scores are equated for each test form, so there is no single conversion. Practice accuracy shows which skills to study, not an official score.

No. The optional school essay is not scored by CLT and does not count toward the total.

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