1.1 Current Exam Facts

ALTA Competency Exam for Multisensory Structured Language Education CALT

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1 Introduction & Exam Overview

1.1 Current Exam Facts 1.2 Eligibility and Therapy-Level Training 1.3 Registration, Prometric, and Study Plan

2 Language Development: Oral and Written Continuum

2.1 Oral-to-Written Language Continuum 2.2 Receptive and Expressive Oral Language 2.3 Receptive and Expressive Written Language

3 Language Development: Phonological Processing & Research

3.1 Atypical Literacy Development and Remediation 3.2 Phonological Processing Components 3.3 Research on Language Development

4 Structural Linguistics: Phonology

4.1 Continuum of Phonological Skills 4.2 Phonemes, Graphemes, and Morphemes 4.3 Articulatory Gestures

5 Structural Linguistics: Alphabetic Principle & Syllables

5.1 Alphabetic Principle and Sight-Word Recognition 5.2 Six Syllable Types 5.3 Syllable Division Patterns

6 Structural Linguistics: Accent, Morphology & Orthography

6.1 Accent Placement and Sound-Symbol Influences 6.2 Morphology: Roots and Affixes 6.3 Orthography, Affixing Rules, and Etymology

7 Structural Linguistics: Syntax, Semantics & Comprehension

7.1 Syntax, Sentence Structure, and Punctuation 7.2 Semantics and Pragmatics 7.3 Comprehension Strategies and Text Structures

8 Structural Linguistics: Written Language & Research

8.1 Handwriting and the Writing Process 8.2 Research on Structural Linguistics

9 Dyslexia: Definition, Brain & Neurology

9.1 Defining Dyslexia and Instructional Impact 9.2 Brain Anatomy and the Reading Network 9.3 Neurological Aspects of Learning Disabilities

10 Dyslexia: Related Issues, Comorbidity & History

10.1 Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Issues 10.2 Comorbid Disorders 10.3 Historical Pioneers in Dyslexia

11 Dyslexia: Research & Executive Function

11.1 Research on Dyslexia and Related Disorders 11.2 Executive Function and Dyslexia

12 Psychoeducational Assessment: Foundations

12.1 Assessment Terminology and Purposes 12.2 Essential Components of a Dyslexia Evaluation 12.3 Formal and Informal Assessment Instruments

13 Psychoeducational Assessment: Interpretation & Error Analysis

13.1 Interpreting Standard Scores, Percentiles, and Stanines 13.2 Using Results to Guide Services 13.3 Error Analysis of Work Samples 13.4 Psychoeducational Research

14 MSL Strategies: Multisensory, Systematic & Analytic

14.1 Simultaneous VAKT Multisensory Strategies 14.2 Systematic and Cumulative Instruction 14.3 Synthetic vs Analytic Instruction

15 MSL Strategies: Direct Instruction, Automaticity & Diagnosis

15.1 Direct vs Indirect Instruction 15.2 Automaticity in Literacy Development 15.3 Diagnostic Teaching

16 MSL Strategies: Program Principles & Theoretical Models

16.1 MSLE Program Content and Principles 16.2 Metacognition and Learning Environments 16.3 Simple View of Reading 16.4 Scarborough's Reading Rope

17 Federal Laws: IDEA, Section 504 & ADA

17.1 Federal Disability Law Landscape 17.2 Federal Eligibility Guidelines 17.3 Documentation Decisions and Accommodations 17.4 Historical Development of Disability Law

18 Professional Ethics: ALTA Code of Ethics

18.1 ALTA Code of Ethics Overview 18.2 Confidentiality, Competence, and Credentials 18.3 Ethical Standards with Parents and Colleagues

19 Professional Communication

19.1 Professional Student Reports 19.2 Strengths- and Needs-Based Language 19.3 Communicating with Parents, Students, and Colleagues

1.1 Current Exam Facts

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

CALT uses 75 multiple-choice questions, two hours and a 76% passing standard in the August 2025 ALTA Candidate Handbook.

The USD $180 exam administration fee is not a promise of included membership; Prometric offers test-centre and remote-proctored delivery.

The eight official weights sum to 100%; Structural Linguistics is largest at 30%, with three domains at 15%.

CALP is a separate practitioner-level examination: 50 questions, two hours and 70%, not the CALT standard.

Last updated: October 2026

Know which ALTA examination you are preparing for

The Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA) awards different credentials within multisensory structured language education (MSLE). This guide's exam orientation concerns the Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT), therapy-level examination . CALP is the practitioner-level route. Similar terminology does not make the two examinations interchangeable.

The ALTA Candidate Handbook, revised August 2025 specifies 75 multiple-choice questions, two hours and a 76% passing standard for CALT . It specifies 50 questions, two hours and 70% for CALP . Use the credential named in your approval when checking exam arrangements. The handbook's specific examination table is the basis for these figures; a generic certification overview is not a substitute for the credential-specific instructions.

Feature CALT CALP
Credential level Academic language therapist Academic language practitioner
Questions 75 multiple-choice 50
Examination time 2 hours 2 hours
Published passing standard 76% 70%

Two hours is 120 minutes, so 120 ÷ 75 gives 1.6 minutes, or 96 seconds, per CALT question on average . This is an arithmetic planning aid, not a separate time limit for each question. Straightforward terminology may take less time; an assessment interpretation may take more. Practise reading the whole stem, identifying the skill being tested and choosing the best supported response rather than chasing a rigid stopwatch target.

The published 76% standard should not be converted into an independently guaranteed raw-answer requirement. Although 0.76 × 75 = 57 mathematically, the handbook figure alone does not establish every scoring detail needed to promise that a particular practice-bank result will pass an operational examination. Practice scores can reveal weak concepts; they are not validated predictions of an ALTA outcome.

Fees, approval and delivery

The handbook and current CALT application identify USD $180 as the examination administration fee , with $180 for each retake during the approval window. Membership or annual credentialing charges are a separate budget consideration; the current sources do not say that this exam payment includes membership. Do not carry forward that promise from older forms with different prices.

ALTA reviews your eligibility before you schedule with Prometric. The approved candidate receives a registration number and may choose a Prometric test centre or remote-proctored delivery . For remote testing, the handbook requires a computer, camera, microphone and internet connection. It recommends allowing three hours overall because check-in and equipment checks can occupy the first hour; this does not turn the two-hour exam into three hours of answering time. Follow the current appointment instructions and arrange accommodations with ALTA in advance.

The eight CALT domains

The handbook publishes these weights for the CALT specifications:

Domain Weight What to practise
Language development 15% Oral/written development and phonological processing

Structural linguistics 30% Phonology, alphabetic principle, syllables, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and written language

Dyslexia and related disorders 15% Dyslexia knowledge and its implications for instruction
Assessment and test data 10% Formal/informal measures, interpretation and error analysis
Diagnostic and prescriptive MSLE strategies 15% Explicit, systematic, cumulative and responsive instruction
Federal laws 5% Educational rights and professional advocacy
Ethical standards 5% ALTA professional ethics
Professional communication 5% Clear, accurate communication with families and colleagues

These percentages total 100%. Structural Linguistics is twice each 15% domain, three times Assessment and six times each 5% domain. It deserves substantial attention, but a blueprint weight is not an instruction to abandon small domains. A five-percent area still represents required professional knowledge.

Do not round these percentages into promises about the number of questions on a particular form. Instead, use them as a first-pass study allocation and then adjust for your own errors. For example, a learner who can name syllable types but cannot explain how a spelling error changes the next lesson needs applied practice, not merely more definitions.

Research appears within the CALT specifications, including language development, structural linguistics, dyslexia and psychoeducational assessment. It is not a separate ninth scored domain. Connect an instructional choice to its underlying language process: distinguish phonemes from graphemes, phonemic manipulation from letter work, and morphological meaning from syllable structure. For assessment questions, connect the observed response pattern to a defensible teaching decision rather than diagnosing from an isolated score.

Turn specifications into a usable review sheet

Create one row for each official domain and three columns: explain the concept, apply it to a new example, and identify the evidence for the decision. Mark a row secure only after you can do more than recognise a familiar answer. Mixed practice is useful for checking whether you can distinguish neighbouring concepts without the chapter title supplying the answer.

For every missed practice item, write the incorrect assumption and a corrected example. A mistake about a phoneme–grapheme relationship belongs in a different review category from overlooking a negative in the question. Preserve both kinds of error in your log. Check the current handbook and your approval details before booking, and keep CALT's 75/two-hour/76% figures separate from CALP's 50/two-hour/70% throughout your preparation.