Got my results last week: CALT certified. I know 19 months sounds like a forever but I was working full-time as a reading specialist while studying, so weekday sessions were usually just 45 minutes. Weekends I could do 3-4 hours.
The exam itself is tough but fair. Structured literacy is the backbone — phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension — and you need to know the theoretical underpinnings (Orton-Gillingham lineage, structured literacy science) as well as practical intervention strategies. I got hit hard on morphology questions, specifically derivational vs. inflectional morphemes and how to teach them explicitly.
If you're preparing for the CALT and currently tutoring students, use your actual caseload as study material. Every lesson I planned, I asked myself which competency it mapped to. That metacognitive layer accelerated my retention significantly.
For assessment, know CTOPP-2 and GORT-5 cold. They test interpretation of results, not just administration procedures. Score report interpretation took me by surprise on a few questions.
The morphology section wrecked me on my first attempt too. Derivational morphemes especially. What resources did you use specifically for that domain?
I'm at month 8 of prep. The CTOPP-2 interpretation questions are something I've been avoiding — this is my reminder to actually dig into them. Thanks.
19 months is actually pretty typical for CALT given the supervised hours requirement. Congratulations — it's one of the harder literacy certs to earn.