"Red state school leader declares policy shift benefits parents over teachers unions"
Oklahoma has officially eliminated traditional statewide standardized end-of-year testing for math and English language arts in grades 3 through 8, as of the 2025-2026 school year. The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) announced this shift in early August 2025, with changes taking effect for the upcoming academic year.
The new policy allows local school districts to use state-approved benchmark assessments administered every six to nine weeks to monitor student progress throughout the year. This change follows an initiative to return educational control to the states after the Trump administration's dismantling of many federal Department of Education functions.
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters, a Republican, framed this overhaul as a "transformative shift" that returns power to local districts and parents, reduces the burden of "high-stakes" testing, and moves away from a "teachers-union led" approach. Surveys of nearly 23,000 parents showed 81% believed state testing was unnecessary for evaluating student learning.
The policy has been met with mixed responses. While some educators support ending standardized testing, concerns were raised about the timing and communication of the rollout, as some schools had already started the academic year when announced. Additionally, questions were raised about the budget allocation for testing.
The OSDE is also exploring future options to eliminate standardized testing for science and history in the same grades. However, it awaits federal approval of its waiver to fully opt out of ESSA testing requirements. Although Oklahoma has submitted a waiver request to the federal government, as of August 2025, this waiver has not yet been approved.
President Donald Trump has dramatically reduced the scope of the federal Department of Education as part of an effort to eventually eliminate it entirely. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated that returning education to the states is a nonpartisan issue. Oklahoma's move towards local control in education aligns with this broader federal rollback of centralized education mandates.
References:
[1] OK Education Department to Eliminate Statewide Testing for Grades 3-8 | NewsOK.com. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2025, from https://newsok.com/ok-education-department-to-eliminate-statewide-testing-for-grades-3-8/article_a355073a-0e1e-5f2a-8402-584e2a39ab3f.html
[2] Oklahoma Requests Waiver to Eliminate Annual Testing Requirement Under ESSA | EdWeek. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2025, from https://www.edweek.org/policybriefs/oklahoma-requests-waiver-to-eliminate-annual-testing-requirement-under-essa/2025/08
[3] Oklahoma to Eliminate Statewide Standardized Testing for Math and English in Grades 3-8 | Tulsa World. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2025, from https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/education/oklahoma-to-eliminate-statewide-standardized-testing-for-math-and-english-in-grades-3-8/article_4b691c5a-223a-521f-9f6c-0c02e45f34d4.html
[4] Oklahoma Parents Support Eliminating State Testing, Survey Shows | The Oklahoman. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2025, from https://newsok.com/oklahoma-parents-support-eliminating-state-testing-survey-shows/article_d5806700-822f-5779-950f-48f60c148b48.html
[5] Oklahoma Eliminates Statewide Testing, but Some Educators Question Timing | KOSU. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2025, from https://www.kosu.org/post/oklahoma-eliminates-statewide-testing-some-educators-question-timing#stream/0
- In line with the Trump administration's dismantling of federal Department of Education functions, the Oklahoma policy shift towards local control in education can be seen as part of a broader, nonpartisan effort to return educational control to the states.
- The Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ryan Walters, has framed the elimination of standardized testing as a 'transformative shift' that will reduce the burden of 'high-stakes' testing, and move away from a 'teachers-union led' approach, aligning with the federal government's intentions to eventually eliminate or reduce the scope of the federal Department of Education.
