GED

Increased Cost Means “Fewer Adults Will Try to Get Their GED”

/ The Old Crank / 1 Comment

Let’s take a break from all this federal policy stuff and check back in with the looming GED disaster, by way of this article by Marc Larocque in today’s Taunton (MA) Gazette:

[Carmen] Botelho [director of the Taunton Adult Education Partnership] said that if the more costly 2014 GED exam is implemented as a standard in Massachusetts, it would also put a burden on adult education programs in Taunton and across the state.“Absolutely, it will be tougher for the program,” Botelho said. “We have funds available through the Taunton Literacy Council that we provide to students for the test, if they can write a letter to the council explaining the situation and its approved. It will be tougher for program in that way. It’s definitely going to be a challenge for the students. And the program will also face financial difficulty because there will likely be more requests for assistance.”

Botelho predicted that fewer adult students will try to get their GED if the costs are nearly doubled, as monthly bills and immediate family needs take precedence. (my emphasis)

Whatever the business rationale is for increasing the costs or otherwise making high school equivalency exams less accessible, pricing adults out of the opportunity to earn a high school credential doesn’t make much sense as a matter of public policy, does it? (Presuming we agree that increasing the number people in this country who have high school level credentials is desirable.) Yet despite two or more years of hearing stories like the one above, there seems to me to be sort of grudging acceptance in some circles that it’s reasonable to make the whole process “tougher” and more expensive, and I (honestly) don’t know why.

I realize that this is primarily a state matter but a national discussion about policies that would encourage more adults to acquire their high school diploma in light of these increasing costs (and other challenges) might not be a bad idea.

California Proposed GED Alternative in “Early Stage”

/ The Old Crank

A somewhat buried lede in this San Jose Mercury News story on the GED, from July 7th:

The California Department of Education is seeking approval from the state Board of Education to adopt an alternative high school equivalency test that could be taken either using pencil and paper or on a computer, said Denise Moore, education program consultant. However, the idea is still in its early stages and the alternative test might not be available until later next year, she said.

What Can You do With a GED?

/ The Old Crank

Ask this guy:

By his own admission, [Snowden] was not a stellar student. In order to get the credits necessary to obtain a high school diploma, he attended a community college in Maryland, studying computing, but never completed the coursework. (He later obtained his GED.)

They Write Letters

/ The Old Crank

GED Testing Service LetterThe GED Testing Service released a letter yesterday in response to a recent, widely circulated Associated Press story about the changes coming to the GED exam in 2014. I’ve written a lot about the controversy over the new exam—you can search the archives if you are interested.

The letter asks the adult education community to be “more courageous” when making decisions about the new test, “because that is what it will take to ensure [adult learners] are prepared for the future.”

It goes on to say that the alternative exams from McGraw Hill and ETS now competing with the GED in the high school equivalency testing market fail to measure college and career readiness, and that the revamped GED will be the only test “truly capable of measuring depth of knowledge and the skills that employers and colleges now expect.” Choosing one of the competing assessments “will just leave your adult learners behind.”

Other highlights:

  • “We believe adults are capable of acquiring the skills necessary to compete, including demonstrating basic technology skills and college and career readiness in 2014 and beyond.”
  • “It’s important that we have substantive conversations about all the issues and changes that we need to make, instead of settling for a cheaper, less effective test. It’s past time that the media and policymakers acknowledge the role that your staff and adult educators play in economic development in your jurisdiction and that you need resources to do the job right.”

So there you have it: those state officials who have chosen one of the alternative assessments are gutless cheapskates who don’t think their learners can actually acquire  the skills to compete. Let the substantive discussion begin!