Oklahoma's teacher test: How do we tell a boy from a girl?

If you want to teach school in Oklahoma, you'll have to pass the new Teacher Qualification Test, developed by PragerU for Superintendent Ryan Walters. It's a "straightforward assessment to ensure educators know American civics, constitutional values, parental rights, and the basics of history and literacy," write PragerU's Marissa Streit and Walters in the New York Post.

I'd call it an odd mix. There are lots of simple civics questions, such as knowing the number of U.S. senators, the name of the two houses of Congress (the House of Lords and the House of Commons is wrong) and "who signs bills into law?" These could be on a citizenship exam or a middle-school test. Slightly more complex, but still pretty obvious:

34. From whom does the United States government derive its power?

• A. The Supreme Court 

• B. The people

• C. The president

• D. The military

There are a bunch of questions designed to make test-takers foreswear transgender ideology: How is a child's biological sex identified? ("personal feelings" is wrong) and "Which chromosome pair determines biological sex in humans?" And there's this one:

5. Why is the distinction between male and female considered important in areas like sports and privacy?

• A. For equity in minority communities

• B. To preserve fairness, safety and integrity for both sexes

• C. To increase participation in sports

• D. To enhance the self-esteem of transgender children

Among the questions:

1. According to the Supreme Court cases Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) and Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), who has the ultimate right to direct a child’s education?

• A. The Superintendent of Schools

• B. The parents

• C. The Board of Education

• D. The federal Department of Education

6. Should teachers be allowed to express their own political viewpoints in the classroom in order to persuade the students to adopt their point of view?

• A. Yes, teachers have freedom of speech, too, which does not stop at the classroom door

• B. No, once you become a teacher, your freedom of speech in and out of the classroom is restricted

• C. Yes, sometimes — when the issue involves civil rights or social justice

• D. No, the classroom is not an appropriate venue for political activism

7. What did the Supreme Court rule in the 2025 case Mahmoud v. Taylor?

• A. Gender-affirming medical procedures are allowed in America

• B. Students must recite the Pledge of Allegiance in schools

• C. Religious schools must hire non-religious staff

• D. Public schools cannot require participation in LGBTQ-themed instruction without parental opt-out

17. Which of the following are explicitly listed in the Bill of Rights?

• A. Freedom of speech and religion

• B. Voting and public education

• C. Reproductive rights and healthcare

• D. Freedom from data collection and surveillance

There are some history questions ranging from naming the first three presidents to knowing the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery in the Confederate states to "Abraham Lincoln's primary reason for waging the Civil War," which was "to preserve the Union," not "to abolish slavery." And there's this one:

27. What cause is Martin Luther King Jr. best known for?

• A. Advocating for segregation

• B. Advocating for the abolition of slavery

• C. Advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion

• D. Advocating for racial equality under the law

You can take the test here.

I guess anyone so ignorant as not to know the answers -- and so lazy as not to skim the test in advance -- is not fit to be a teacher. But it's a low bar.