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FIRST ON FOX: The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) is eliminating statewide standardized end-of-year testing for several subjects as part of an effort to give "local control back to school districts."
OSDE stated that the changes will take effect in the 2025-2026 school year and will impact math and English courses in grades three through eight. In place of the standardized tests, Oklahoma will allow districts to use approved benchmark assessments that are already in use to report on students' academic achievement and growth.
It said the change will reduce the overall testing burden on students and teachers as well as allow teachers to focus on classroom instruction rather than test preparation. OSDE noted that the benchmark assessments will continue to comply with federal and state protections for students with disabilities.
OSDE is also "exploring" future options to eliminate standardized testing for science and history in the same grades.
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This follows President Donald Trump dramatically reducing the scope of the federal Department of Education as part of an effort to eventually eliminate it entirely. After railing against the Department of Education during the 2024 campaign for being filled with "radicals, zealots and Marxists," Trump signed an executive order in March directing that the department be dismantled and its functions "returned to the States."
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said during a gathering of Republican and Democratic governors that returning education to the states "is really a nonpartisan issue" and "just means giving them back the part that is now provided by the federal government, and they're anxious for it."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, OSDE explained its decision to eliminate standardized testing, calling it "a move to take power over performance from liberal teacher unions and undo a burden that has been placed on students and teachers."
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The department said it surveyed Oklahoma parents on the issue and found that 86% of the 15,349 respondents expressed that standardized testing was not necessary for evaluating student learning.
"For far too long, the teachers unions have used standardized testing to keep states in line with their woke standards," the department said.
Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, a Republican, told Fox News Digital, "President Trump is returning power back to the states so we can return power back to hard-working Oklahoma families."
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"The teachers-union-approach is failing our kids," said Walters. "By moving away from outdated state tests and empowering local districts, we're reducing the burden on students, parents, and teachers while ensuring high-quality education that is no longer driven by bureaucrats or outside groups."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Oklahoma Education Association, Professional Oklahoma Educators and the American Federation of Teachers - Oklahoma for comment.
