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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

VOLUME 118 - ISSUE 4 Not officially associated with the University of Florida

Published by Campus Communications, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida

UF will accept ‘classical’ entrance exam in admissions The Classic Learning Test will be accepted as an alternative to the SAT and ACT By Garrett Shanley & Bailey Diem Alligator Staff Writers

UF joined 11 Florida schools in becoming the first state university system in the country to accept the Classic Learning Test as an alternative to the SAT and ACT in its admissions following a Board of Governors vote Sept. 8. The vote comes nearly seven months after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed reevaluation of the state’s relationship with College Board, the non-profit that administers the SAT. What is the Classic Learning Test?

Ryan Friedenberg // Alligator Staff

Redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz celebrates after he ran the ball for a touchdown in the Gators' 49-7 win against the McNeese State Cowboys Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. Find this story in Sports on pg. 15.

The CLT, founded in 2015, accomplishes its mission statement of “re-introducing truth, beauty, and goodness to modern education” through the use of classical literature and historical texts in its reading sections. Two of the exam’s three sections are dedicated to “verbal reasoning” and “grammar and writing.” These sections feature passages from 162 writers, including Aristotle, Martin Luther King Jr. and Adam Smith. A third “quantitative reasoning” section tests students on mathematics. Taryn Boyes, director of marketing at Classic Learning Test, said the exam’s emphasis on classical literature presents a competitive advantage over other standardized tests. “Rival exams often use recently-penned passages, which tend to have little intellectual or aesthetic substance,” Boyes wrote in a statement. “In contrast, CLT makes a point of prioritizing authors

that have shown their power to retain an audience for generations.” The exam is accepted at over 250 colleges and universities, many of which are religiously affiliated. Out of the 13 Florida schools that accepted the CLT in admissions before Sept. 8, 11 were private Christian universities like Trinity College of Florida and Ave Maria University. Of the students who have taken the CLT since 2018, 40% attend private school, 37% are homeschooled and about 12% attend public schools, according to data provided by CLT. The remaining 11% attend “classical charter schools.” The exam’s popularity among homeschooled, private and charter students will “promote social and intellectual diversity on campus,” Boyes said. While the CLT gained traction among non-public students, the total number of students taking the exam remains low. In the high school class of 2022, 1.7 million students took the SAT and 1.3 million students took the ACT. From 2016 to 2023, only 21,000 high school juniors and seniors took the CLT, according to an official CLT report. Why does UF now accept the CLT?

The Board of Governors, a 17-member board which presides over Florida’s State University System, voted nearly unanimously to pass a regulation that permits the CLT to be accepted in admissions. Amanda Phalin, the Board of Governor’s advisory council of faculty senates chair, was the sole dissenting vote. She commended the legislature for

Teachers spend up to thousands on classroom supplies

Decorations, snacks and books largely come out-of-pocket By Alissa Gary Alligator Staff Writer

As a fifth-grade teacher, Ashley Axson knows what makes her students pay attention in class: the treasure box. Slime, pop-its and candy are best-selling treasures right now, so Axson keeps a steady supply in her room — in fact, the chance to win them might be the only reason some students come to class, she said. But to keep the prizes coming, Axson spends more than $1,000 out-of-pocket per year. “Every single detail that goes into building a classroom comes out of a teacher’s wallet,” she said. Teachers across Alachua County Public Schools and throughout the country spend from hundreds to thousands of dollars each year buying school supplies, class decorations, cleaning supplies and snacks for their students — most of which can’t be

purchased using district-allocated supply funds. Among the ACPS teachers who talked to The Alligator, the average amount spent out-of-pocket was between $1,460 and $2,500, with the lowest estimate being $100 and the highest being $10,000. Aside from teaching at Stephen Foster Elementary School, Axson took two more jobs — one in retail and one as a server — to help her afford classroom supplies and her personal finances. “While I know that's my active choice to take on those extra jobs, it's so I know I can do what I need to do for these kids,” she said. “Because they do deserve all of the rewards.” Paying for the essential non-essentials

Snacks are the biggest expense in English teacher Jordan Marlowe’s $1,000 bud-

SPORTS/SPECIAL/CUTOUT

Gainesville Plague

First-year head coach Adam Steinberg hopeful for 2023-24. Read more on pg. 15.

Local Eggs

Steinberg Startsfinish Stintwith comma, pg# Story description

get, he said. Marlowe, who works at Newberry High School, has noticed students learn better when they’re not hungry, he said, so he stocked up on pop tarts, juice boxes and other goodies. But once word got out that he had food in his classroom, students started coming to him for snacks regardless of whether they had him as a teacher. “It is really, really hard for me to say no to somebody who is hungry,” he said. “That's just a terrible feeling. But it was getting so expensive.” The district provides teachers with a Class Wallet account, which allows them to spend about $300 on certain approved supplies, ACPS spokesperson Jackie Johnson said. Teachers confirmed they receive Class Wallet money, but estimated its value at about $250. Each school also allocates about $200 — an amount that varies among schools —

Students weary of sinus infections, flus and COVID-19, pg. 4

Gainesville family turns backyard chicken coop into community resource, pg. 7

SEE CLT, PAGE 5 from its supplies budget to each teacher. However, all supplies bought with these funds must be approved by school administrators. Prizes, decorations and snacks are considered non-essential and therefore are not covered by schools. If teachers want to purchase from sites other than the county options, or if their purchases are rejected, they are not reimbursed for the costs. As a result, teachers have resorted to buying what they need out of pocket. One solution to the lack of flexibility on district-approved purchases would be to reimburse teachers for supplies of their choice up to a certain dollar amount, Marlowe said. “It becomes onerous,” he said. “If I need pencils today, or tomorrow, I'm just gonna go get the pencils tomorrow, and then if I can't get reimbursed for it, well, I just can't get reimbursed.” The cost of comfortable

Another option teachers turn to is supply drives and wish lists, where class parents

SEE SCHOOL, PAGE 5

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