Superintendent Ryan Walters defends test to keep 'radical ideology' out of Oklahoma classrooms

Teachers coming to Oklahoma from New York or California will be subject to a 50-question test to obtain their certification to teach in the state, according to state education leaders.

The new test, State Superintendent Ryan Walters says, is intended to protect classrooms from what he calls "radical leftist ideology."

RELATED: Oklahoma will test teachers from New York and California to guard against ‘radical leftist ideology’

On Tuesday, the OSDE released five sample questions from the test, which feature topics such as the U.S. Constitution and other civics-related areas.

RELATED: Sample questions released from test required for teachers from California and New York

Thursday morning, News 9 spoke to Walters to learn more about his plan.

What are some of these other questions that they will see on that test? 

A: What you're going to see, and we've seen the most radical agenda in the country from (California Governor) Gavin Newsom over the summer, he came in and required California teachers to teach that there are 27 genders. Required California teachers to teach that there are no differences between males and females. Listen, our standards are clear here in Oklahoma; we have the best science standards, the best history standards. When we recruit these teachers in, as you guys know, we have record teacher recruitment with our signing bonuses and merit pay programs, we're going to make sure they're going to teach to our standards. So some of the questions are going to deal with gender. You're gonna have to know what a woman is, you're gonna have to be able to understand that. My 4-year-old knows the answer to that. You're gonna have to be able to show that you're gonna teach that in the classroom. You're going to have to be able to show that you understand the basics of American government and American history. We want great citizens. We want our kids to have a patriotic education that centers on American values, and we're going to make sure that the teachers coming into the state exemplify that.

What is the goal here for those passing the tests? Do you have to get them all right? What is the criteria? 

A: You've got to get them all right. You saw some of them there. We'll be releasing the whole test soon, and I would say for your audience to take the test, go look at it. This is going to be very transparent, but this is going to be a model. We already have other states reaching out, saying we can't wait to see this test. We want to utilize it too, because, again, we want the best teachers in the classroom, but what we're seeing across the country in blue states is an agenda to turn our kids into social justice warriors. They are pushing an agenda. Listen to the comments from Gov. Newsom in California. It's the craziest stuff that you've ever heard, and they're mandating it. It's not a talking point. They require it in the classroom, and we're saying here in Oklahoma, we've got common sense, frankly. This should be left, right, center, shouldn't matter. We're talking about academics. We should all be able to agree that when you're in the classroom, we don't want a left-wing political ideology. We want to talk about history and science and the facts.

What would be the definition that you would have for a woke ideology? How would you define it when it comes to teachers coming here?

A: What you see from what woke is, is they mean they want you to "awaken" to what they believe is the truth or the lies that they call the truth, which is that America is an evil, racist country, there's no such thing as gender, Christianity and faith are bad things. That's what they want you to awaken to. That is nonsensical. All of the tenets of socialism are to undermine American values and Oklahoma values, so we will reject those things. We will reject the woke attack on the classroom and our kids, and again, you're going to continue to see us recruit the best and brightest. We have a record teacher recruitment, again, we have merit pay. We now have 1,000 teachers on track to make $100,000 in the classroom, and look, we're very proud to partner with PragerU on this to give parents what they've demanded: They want a classroom free of woke ideology and a focus on student outcomes, and that's what we're going to provide here in Oklahoma. 

When will we see all those 50 questions? When will they be available for us? 

A: It'll be very soon. So we've been releasing some of the questions ... We've been working with the teachers [who] will have to take the test. We've been notifying the districts of these individual teachers. We need to be taking the tests this year. So we're still working on the implementation of that, but an incredible [number] of folks want to take it. We're hearing from folks all over the country now on it. So we're trying to make sure everything is set up and ready for the influx of applicants we're about to get.

You talk all the time about working closely with the Trump administration. The Secretary of Education was here. I'm curious if you got an invitation to that? 

A: No, no. I was out of state. We've been talking to her team almost daily, we always do. We're already excited to welcome her back. We're glad she had a great visit, but I was pre-planned out of state for that amount of time. But listen, the Trump administration has done more for education than any presidential administration in history. We're so excited to continue to move forward with our plans. We're continuing to be excited about bringing an "America First" agenda to all Oklahoma schools. We welcome the secretary, we can't wait for her to be back, and again we can't cannot wait to continue bringing that "America First" agenda to Oklahoma.

Is there any announcement coming about running for governor?

A: I was just having breakfast this morning, and some ladies came up and asked me if I was running. Really wanted me to run and look, that's always flattering, and it's always very kind. I told you a minute ago, my focus right now is to get the school year started. I looked at it this way as a teacher. Parents know this. How the school year starts is so crucial, right? You know, do you have everything going? Are the kids really getting into a routine? I think that's very important for this role as well. Is school getting started? Is everything getting launched that should be? Are all the supports out there? All the resources out there? So that's my focus right now. Look, there will be a decision that needs to be made, and I appreciate it. Oklahomans are really concerned; they look at the field, and they see that there's no real MAGA candidate. There's no real supporter of President Trump in the race, and so, yeah, I get it. Wherever I go, a lot of folks want me to run. Again, it's flattering. It's an honor to even have my name thrown around like that, but we'll have to make a decision at some point, and [we're] not quite there. We'll see what happens.