Finally passed my CALT after failing twice — here's what actually worked

I've been lurking here for months and figured it's time to give back since this community genuinely helped me pass. Background: I'm a reading specialist with about six years in the classroom, and I assumed I could cruise through the CALT without much prep. Wrong. Failed by 12 points the first time, then by 8 the second time. I was devastated, honestly questioning whether I was even cut out for this.

What finally clicked was treating it like I'd never seen the material before. I spent about 90 minutes a day for eight weeks using a structured CALT study guide rather than just rereading my IDA notes. The phonological awareness and orthographic knowledge sections killed me on my first two attempts — I knew the concepts but kept misreading what the questions were actually testing. Finding a solid CALT practice test that mimicked the real question style made an enormous difference. You need to learn their specific phrasing.

Passed on attempt three with a 78. Not glamorous, but it's done. Happy to answer questions about specific content areas or what the test-day experience is like if anyone's gearing up for it.