Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Schools, Ryan Walters, announced on Monday, August 18th, that prospective teachers from California, New York, and other states must pass an assessment exam organized by the Oklahoma non-profit organization, PragerU, in order to obtain teacher certification issued by the state government.
Walters stated in a press release that the purpose of this exam is to ensure that the state’s education system is not influenced by the “radical left-wing ideologies fostered in California and New York.”
A spokesperson for the state’s Department of Education revealed that the PragerU test for prospective teachers has been finalized and will be rolled out “soon.”
PragerU, short for Prager University, is a conservative non-profit organization that publishes short videos on its YouTube channel presenting conservative perspectives on politics and economics.
The state disclosed the first five questions of the 50-test question, including: “What are the first three words of the U.S. Constitution?” and “Why is religious freedom ‘important to America’s identity’?”
Marissa Streit, the CEO of PragerU, told CNN that several questions in the assessment are related to “harmful gender ideologies.”
Jonathan Zimmerman, a history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, viewed this test as a “watershed moment,” emphasizing that it has been institutionalized as a part of the state government system, rather than merely being an optional resource.
He mentioned a survey conducted by the American Historical Association last year among 7th to 12th-grade teachers, revealing that few teachers rely on textbooks for daily instruction due to their “extreme dullness,” leading history teachers to increasingly depend on online resources, including those offered by PragerU.
Zimmerman remarked, “What we’re seeing now in Oklahoma is, in fact, PragerU being empowered to become the gatekeeper for screening future teachers.”
Randi Weingarten, President of one of the largest teachers’ unions in the U.S., the American Federation of Teachers, criticized Oklahoma’s approach as a “MAGA loyalty test.”
(This article is based on reporting from the Associated Press)