Oklahoma, which ranks among the worst states for education and is facing a teacher shortage, recently unveiled its ideological purity test to weed out “woke” teachers. It’s already being criticized as “performative bulls**t,” in part, because it’s impossible to fail and exists almost entirely to push right-wing anti-transgender talking points.

In July, Republican State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters announced that his department was partnering with conservative, anti-LGBTQ+ nonprofit PragerU to develop an ideological purity test for teachers relocating to the state from states with a “woke agenda,” like California and New York.

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The so-called “Teacher Qualification Test” — which anyone can take for free online — has an introductory page that says, “This initiative is a direct response to the increasing politicization of our schools through harmful … promotion of gender-affirming care that undermines parental authority and confuses young children. PragerU stands firmly against this ideological assault.”

Though the exam largely focuses on basic questions about U.S. history and government, five of the test’s 34 questions focus on LGBTQ+ issues, mostly transphobic talking points. Here are those questions and their “answers”:

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• What is the fundamental biological distinction between males and females?
  (Answer: Chromosomes and reproductive anatomy)

• How is a child’s biological sex typically identified?
  (Answer: Visual anatomical observation and chromosomes)

• Which chromosome pair determines biological sex in humans?
  (Answer: XX/XY)

• Why is the distinction between male and female considered important in areas like sports and privacy?
  (Answer: To preserve fairness, safety, and integrity for both sexes)

• What did the Supreme Court rule in the 2025 case Mahmoud v. Taylor?
  (Answer: Public schools cannot require participation in LGBTQ-themed instruction without a parental opt-out)

While the final question above is factually correct, the four preceding it merely echo transphobic right-wing talking points used to deny trans people entry into gendered spaces and sports teams. Numerous biologists have pointed out that there are at least 40 different known variations of intersex sex characteristics (some of which include XXY and XYY chromosomal combinations).

Walters has bragged that over 16,000 people have taken and passed the test; ignoring the fact that most of those test-takers are probably not teachers, but just people curious about the exam. In fact, since 2020, only 19 out of 573 out-of-state applications for teaching in Oklahoma came from California or New York, meaning that “woke” teachers aren’t flocking to the state in the first place.

Hemant Mehta of the anti-Christian Nationalist website Friendly Atheist called the test “performative bulls**t,” noting that it’s impossible to fail because it makes test-takers re-choose their multiple choice answers until they choose the “right” one. He also noted that the earlier versions of the test’s completion certificate misspelled the word “certifiy,” and that, upon finishing the test, test-takers are shown a page encouraging them to make a donation to PragerU.

“This is an advertising campaign for PragerU masquerading as an assessment,” Mehta wrote. “It won’t stop outside teachers from working in Oklahoma—whoever they are—because it was never intended to do that. Walters just wanted to promote a conservative group using his government job, so he told the media he was imposing this ‘test’ on blue state transfers. (He’s not. He can’t. People fell for it anyway.)”

Though Walters had previously said that teachers who don’t pass the test won’t be allowed to teach in schools, it may be illegal since it oversteps the legal bounds of his office.

Walters, who wants to ban LGBTQ+ books but teach the Bible in public school history classes, has previously pushed the transphobic lie about schools providing litterboxes to students who identify as cats. He also referred to teachers’ unions as “terrorist organizations” and illegally tried to make rules banning LGBTQ+ books and transgender bathroom access in schools.

He has appeared at events hosted by Moms for Liberty, a right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ “parent’s rights” group that has been called an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. He also appointed Chaya Raichik, an anti-LGBTQ+ activist who goes by Libs of Tik Tok online, as a Library Media Advisor for the state (even though she has no educational experience, doesn’t reside in Oklahoma, and has made posts that have led to bomb threats against students).

Rob Miller, a Democrat running for Walters’ position in 2026, issued a statement saying “Honestly, it felt like an 8th-grade pop quiz – no studying, no effort, barely a second thought…. Families deserve more than political gimmicks. They deserve leaders who will do the real work of supporting teachers and improving student outcomes.”

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