diff --git a/configure b/configure
index d2acb7d..69ae083 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -45622,6 +45622,14 @@ $as_echo "yes" >&6; }
     fi
 fi
 
+# explicit override to enable or disable tests
+if test "${enable_tests+set}" = set; then
+    SUBDIRS="$SUBDIRS tests"
+fi
+if test "${disable_tests+set}" = set; then
+	SUBDIRS="${SUBDIRS% tests}"
+fi
+
 for subdir in $SUBDIRS; do
     if test -d ${srcdir}/${subdir} ; then
         if test "$wxUSE_GUI" = "yes"; then
