Oklahoma has taken a bold—and highly contentious—step in the ongoing battle over education policy, launching a new certification test for teachers relocating from California and New York. The test, designed by the conservative nonprofit Prager University (PragerU), aims to ensure that incoming educators align with Oklahoma’s conservative values and educational standards. The move, announced by Oklahoma Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, has sparked fierce debate across the political spectrum, with critics labeling it a “MAGA loyalty test” and supporters hailing it as a necessary defense against what they see as leftist indoctrination in schools.
“As long as I am superintendent, Oklahoma classrooms will be safeguarded from the radical leftist ideology fostered in places like California and New York,” Walters declared in a statement released on August 20, 2025, according to reporting from multiple outlets including USA Today and The New York Sun. He went further in a Fox News interview, stating, “We refuse to let Gavin Newsom’s woke, Marxist agenda turn Oklahoma into the same dumpster fire California has become.” The fiery rhetoric underscores the political stakes involved in what might otherwise seem a routine matter of teacher certification.
The new assessment—officially titled the America First Assessment—will be required for any teacher from New York or California seeking certification in Oklahoma. Walters has been explicit about the test’s purpose: “We want great teachers. We do not allow any kind of CRT being pushed on the kids. DEI. Transgenderism. We don’t do that here in Oklahoma. Our focus will be on reading, math, history, science.” The test is part of a broader initiative to implement President Trump’s education agenda, following six executive orders issued in April 2025 that rolled back changes made by Presidents Obama and Biden, as reported by The New York Sun.
The test itself consists of 50 multiple-choice questions, some of which the Oklahoma Department of Education shared with the press. These include basic civics questions—such as the first three words of the Constitution, the importance of freedom of religion, why some states have more representatives than others, the number of senators, and the two parts of the U.S. Congress. According to Batya Ungar-Sargon, Newsweek’s opinion editor, applicants are also asked, “which chromosome pairs determine biological sex.” She commented on CNN, “These are all great questions. Shouldn’t a teacher have to be able to answer them?”
Yet the test goes well beyond basic civics or biology. Teachers must also agree with Oklahoma’s American history standards, which were designed with input from PragerU. These standards, as reported by USA Today, controversially include elements of a conspiracy theory alleging that the Democratic Party stole the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump—a claim that has been widely debunked by fact-checkers. Every incoming teacher, regardless of subject or grade, will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the biological differences between females and males and affirm their agreement with these history standards.
Oklahoma’s approach is not just about ideological screening; it’s also an attempt to address a worsening teacher shortage. The state is offering bonuses of up to $50,000 to attract teachers from across the country. However, critics argue that the new certification requirements will only exacerbate the problem. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, was blunt in her assessment: “This MAGA loyalty test will be yet another turnoff for teachers in a state already struggling with a huge shortage.” In a statement, she added, “Ryan Walters appears to be trying out for MAGA in chief, not educator in chief.”
Supporters of the new policy, however, argue that Oklahoma is fulfilling its role as one of America’s “laboratories of democracy,” a term coined by Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis. They see the state’s willingness to experiment with controversial education reforms as a model for others to follow—or avoid. “Improving the education system looks to be just what Americans want,” The New York Sun noted, citing a recent Phi Delta Kappan survey showing that only 13 percent of respondents gave the nation’s public schools an A or B rating, half the rate from 2004.
Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of the history of education at the University of Pennsylvania, described Oklahoma’s adoption of the PragerU assessment as a “watershed moment” for the organization. This marks a significant shift for PragerU, which has previously been known as an external provider of educational materials but now plays a direct role in teacher certification. The involvement of PragerU has drawn sharp criticism from educators like Cari Elledge, president of the Oklahoma Education Association, who told USA Today that PragerU is “partisan” and “not an educational authority,” dismissing the new test as “a political stunt.”
The rollout of the test comes at a time of heightened debate over the role of politics in education. Walters, a frequent critic of what he calls “the left’s agenda,” has consistently opposed the inclusion of critical race theory (CRT), diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and instruction related to transgender issues in Oklahoma classrooms. “We don’t do that here in Oklahoma,” he reiterated in his Fox News appearance. Instead, he insists that the focus will remain on traditional academic subjects.
The controversy isn’t limited to the test itself. Oklahoma’s broader education policies have recently come under judicial scrutiny. On Wednesday, the state Supreme Court split four to four on Walters’s proposal for a religious charter school, effectively letting stand a ruling against it by Oklahoma’s high court. In August, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit challenging provisions such as Bible instruction in schools, leaving those policies in place for now.
With the America First Assessment set to be administered starting the week of August 21, 2025, Oklahoma has become ground zero for the national debate over educational standards and political ideology in the classroom. Other states are watching closely, considering whether to follow Oklahoma’s lead or mount legal and political challenges to similar efforts. The White House, for its part, has signaled support for experimentation at the state level, setting the stage for further polarization—and innovation—in American education.
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: Oklahoma’s new teacher certification test is more than a bureaucratic hurdle. It’s a flashpoint in the broader struggle over the soul of public education in America, with both sides convinced that the stakes could not be higher for the next generation of students and citizens.
