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First on FOX: The Oklahoma Department of Education (OSDE) is eliminating statewide standardized year-end testing for several subjects as part of its efforts to “provide local management to school districts.”
OSDE said the change will take effect in the 2025-2026 academic year and will affect mathematics and English courses for 3rd to 8th grade. Instead of standardized testing, Oklahoma allows the state of office to use approved benchmark ratings already used to report student academic achievement and growth.
He said the change will reduce the overall testing burden for students and teachers, allowing teachers to focus on teaching the classroom rather than preparing for the test. OSDE noted that the benchmark rating continues to comply with federal and state protections for students with disabilities.
OSDE is also “exploring” future options to eliminate standardized tests of science and history in the same grade.
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Ryan Walters, a Republican superintendent of public leadership in Oklahoma, told Fox News Digital, “President Trump can return to the state and bring his strength back to his hardworking Oklahoma family.” (Commentary of Ryan Walters and John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
This dramatically reduces the scope of the Federal Department of Education as part of an effort to ultimately eliminate it completely, following President Donald Trump. Trump signed an executive order dictating that the department was dismantled and that its functions “returned to the state” after a railing against the Department of Education during a 2024 campaign filled with “extremists, enthusiasts and Marxists” in March.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a gathering of Republican and Democrat governors that returning education to the state “is a truly nonpartisan issue” and “simply means returning the portion provided by the federal government to them, and they’re worried about it.”
In a statement to Fox News Digital, OSDE described its decision to eliminate standardized testing, calling it a “movement to take on performances from the liberal teachers’ union and undo the burdens placed on students and teachers.”
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Education Secretary Linda McMahon testifies before the budget hearing of the Budget Committee Subcommittee at the Capitol Hill Department of Education on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
The department surveyed parents in Oklahoma on the issue and found that 86% of 15,349 respondents expressed that standardized tests were not needed to assess student learning.
“For too long, teacher unions have been using standardized tests to keep them in line with state standards,” the department said.
Ryan Walters, a Republican superintendent of public leadership in Oklahoma, told Fox News Digital, “President Trump can return to the state and bring his strength back to his hardworking Oklahoma family.”
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Ryan Walters, the superintendent of public leadership in Oklahoma, wants a high-quality education that is “no longer promoted by bureaucrats or external groups.” (AP photo/sue ogrocki)
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“Teachers and fellow citizens are failing our children,” Walters said. “By embracing the testing of outdated states and empowering local districts, we are ensuring high-quality education that is no longer driven by bureaucrats and external groups,” he said, while reducing the burden on students, parents and teachers.
Fox News Digital has contacted the Oklahoma Education Association, Professional Oklahoma Educators, and the American Federation of Teachers – Oklahoma for comments.
Peter Pinedo is a political writer for Fox News Digital.
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