diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php
index 4611eadc9f..ce6d794c0c 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/schema.php
@@ -356,12 +356,15 @@ $wp_queries = wp_get_db_schema( 'all' );
  * Create WordPress options and set the default values.
  *
  * @since 1.5.0
+ * @since 5.0.0 The $options parameter has been added.
  *
  * @global wpdb $wpdb WordPress database abstraction object.
  * @global int  $wp_db_version
  * @global int  $wp_current_db_version
+ *
+ * @param array $options Optional. Custom option $key => $value pairs to use. Default empty array.
  */
-function populate_options() {
+function populate_options( array $options = array() ) {
 	global $wpdb, $wp_db_version, $wp_current_db_version;
 
 	$guessurl = wp_guess_url();
@@ -406,7 +409,7 @@ function populate_options() {
 			$timezone_string = $offset_or_tz;
 	}
 
-	$options = array(
+	$defaults = array(
 		'siteurl'                         => $guessurl,
 		'home'                            => $guessurl,
 		'blogname'                        => __( 'My Site' ),
@@ -542,17 +545,19 @@ function populate_options() {
 
 	// 3.3
 	if ( ! is_multisite() ) {
-		$options['initial_db_version'] = ! empty( $wp_current_db_version ) && $wp_current_db_version < $wp_db_version
+		$defaults['initial_db_version'] = ! empty( $wp_current_db_version ) && $wp_current_db_version < $wp_db_version
 			? $wp_current_db_version : $wp_db_version;
 	}
 
 	// 3.0 multisite
 	if ( is_multisite() ) {
 		/* translators: site tagline */
-		$options['blogdescription']     = sprintf( __( 'Just another %s site' ), get_network()->site_name );
-		$options['permalink_structure'] = '/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/';
+		$defaults['blogdescription']     = sprintf( __( 'Just another %s site' ), get_network()->site_name );
+		$defaults['permalink_structure'] = '/%year%/%monthnum%/%day%/%postname%/';
 	}
 
+	$options = wp_parse_args( $options, $defaults );
+
 	// Set autoload to no for these options
 	$fat_options = array( 'moderation_keys', 'recently_edited', 'blacklist_keys', 'uninstall_plugins' );
 
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/admin/includesSchema.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/admin/includesSchema.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..346d1732af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/admin/includesSchema.php
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+<?php
+
+/**
+ * @group admin
+ */
+class Tests_Admin_Includes_Schema extends WP_UnitTestCase {
+
+	private static $options;
+
+	/**
+	 * Make sure the schema code is loaded before the tests are run.
+	 */
+	public static function wpSetUpBeforeClass() {
+		global $wpdb;
+
+		self::$options  = 'testprefix_options';
+
+		$options = self::$options;
+
+		require_once( ABSPATH . 'wp-admin/includes/schema.php' );
+
+		$charset_collate  = $wpdb->get_charset_collate();
+		$max_index_length = 191;
+
+		$wpdb->query(
+			"
+			CREATE TABLE {$options} (
+				option_id bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
+				option_name varchar(191) NOT NULL default '',
+				option_value longtext NOT NULL,
+				autoload varchar(20) NOT NULL default 'yes',
+				PRIMARY KEY  (option_id),
+				UNIQUE KEY option_name (option_name)
+			) {$charset_collate}
+			"
+		);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Drop tables that were created before running the tests.
+	 */
+	public static function wpTearDownAfterClass() {
+		global $wpdb;
+
+		$options = self::$options;
+
+		$wpdb->query( "DROP TABLE IF EXISTS {$options}" );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 44893
+	 * @dataProvider data_populate_options
+	 */
+	function test_populate_options( $options, $expected ) {
+		global $wpdb;
+
+		remove_all_filters( 'option_admin_email' );
+		remove_all_filters( 'pre_option_admin_email' );
+		remove_all_filters( 'default_option_admin_email' );
+
+		$orig_options  = $wpdb->options;
+		$wpdb->options = self::$options;
+
+		populate_options( $options );
+
+		wp_cache_delete( 'alloptions', 'options' );
+
+		$results = array();
+		foreach ( $expected as $option => $value ) {
+			$results[ $option ] = get_option( $option );
+		}
+
+		$wpdb->query( "TRUNCATE TABLE {$wpdb->options}" );
+
+		$wpdb->options = $orig_options;
+
+		$this->assertEquals( $expected, $results );
+	}
+
+	public function data_populate_options() {
+		return array(
+			array(
+				array(),
+				array(
+					// Random options to check.
+					'posts_per_rss'    => 10,
+					'rss_use_excerpt'  => 0,
+					'mailserver_url'   => 'mail.example.com',
+					'mailserver_login' => 'login@example.com',
+					'mailserver_pass'  => 'password',
+				),
+			),
+			array(
+				array(
+					'posts_per_rss'    => 7,
+					'rss_use_excerpt'  => 1,
+				),
+				array(
+					// Random options to check.
+					'posts_per_rss'    => 7,
+					'rss_use_excerpt'  => 1,
+					'mailserver_url'   => 'mail.example.com',
+					'mailserver_login' => 'login@example.com',
+					'mailserver_pass'  => 'password',
+				),
+			),
+			array(
+				array(
+					'custom_option' => '1',
+				),
+				array(
+					// Random options to check.
+					'custom_option'    => '1',
+					'posts_per_rss'    => 10,
+					'rss_use_excerpt'  => 0,
+					'mailserver_url'   => 'mail.example.com',
+					'mailserver_login' => 'login@example.com',
+					'mailserver_pass'  => 'password',
+				),
+			),
+			array(
+				array(
+					'use_quicktags' => '1',
+				),
+				array(
+					// This option is on a blacklist and should never exist.
+					'use_quicktags' => false,
+				),
+			),
+			array(
+				array(
+					'rss_0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef'    => '1',
+					'rss_0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef_ts' => '1',
+				),
+				array(
+					// These options would be obsolete magpie cache data and should never exist.
+					'rss_0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef'    => false,
+					'rss_0123456789abcdef0123456789abcdef_ts' => false,
+				),
+			),
+		);
+	}
+}