College Readiness, Early Post-secondary Academic Performance and the GED Degree: Evidence from Kentucky

We use detailed administrative data from Kentucky to provide robust descriptive evidence on the relationship between the General Educational Development (GED) degree, college readiness, and early post-secondary (PSE) academic performance. Following previous work in this area, we address selection issues by focusing on a sample of students who are identified as at-risk prior to high school entry. Our results suggest the GED credential is not a credible signal of PSE readiness, particularly in mathematics. GED graduates attain a lower first semester GPA and are also less likely to re-enroll in second semester courses. We also find that changes made to the GED exam in 2014 to enhance student readiness in PSE institutions did not yield meaningful improvements. Finally, we investigate the extent to which differences in math coursework can explain estimated GED-related math readiness gaps, finding coursework to account for about for about 40 percent of the observed gap.

Adult Education Need vs. Capacity

The 2004-2014 findings from the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS) and the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that the District's 4th and 9th graders scored 49th out of 51 states and territories in 2016. The District had switched to the federal PAARC test, and in 2017 it began to implement the Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) model. Implementing this model means that students will work with two teachers in the classroom: one provides job-training and another who teaches basic skills in reading, math, or English language. The students' historically-low test scores and the implementation of the I-BEST model suggest that CSOSA clients referred to the District's public and charter schools or nonprofit adult education contractors would have been unlikely to have been able to obtain a high school degree or GED credential.

Challenges and Solutions to Assisting Older Adults in Completing the GED

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges and solutions encountered by Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs currently serving older adults seeking a GED credential in states where this is the only high school equivalency option available. The following questions guided this research: (1) what are the perceived characteristics and needs of older students seeking a high school equivalency diploma?; (2) how do GED programs promote the success of their older students?; and (3) what are the future service and planning needs of these GED programs with regard to this population? To address these questions, a series of 55 one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with experts across 32 GED-only states was carried out. Findings revealed a consistent, shared experience in terms of overall attitudes and challenges among these experts, as well as a variety of innovative practices and recommendations for assisting older learners.

Routes and Reasons Out, Paths Back

Dropout is a major issue facing our country’s schools; however, many students who drop out of school later go on to finish their degree either by returning to high school or by earning a General Education Development (GED) credential. Despite this, there has been relatively little research on these students who “stopout” of high school. Drawing on a sample of high school dropouts, we build on research conceptualizing dropouts as having been “pushed” or “pulled” out of school by examining how routes out of school influence the process of return. Our analysis reveals that being either pushed or pulled has little differential impact on the reengagement process. But, particular reasons within the categories have strong effects on keeping students out of school and on the pathways that they take if they return. Implications are suggested for both school practice and for how researchers should best conceptualize dropouts.

Learning about Students with General Education Development Diplomas on College Campuses: Implications for Academic Advisors

As the numbers of students who earn the general educational development (GED) high school equivalency diploma increase, so too does the presence of GED credential holders on college campuses. Yet in large universities, they make up a relatively small demographic group whose advising needs may go unnoticed. In this article, we describe a series of studies undertaken to learn more about Kent State University students who hold GED diplomas, and we focus on results that have implications for academic advisors. The studies were designed to summarize and analyze demographic, academic, and interview data so that a portrait of students with GED diplomas could be developed. We hope that these portraits provide a more complete understanding of the academic needs and aspirations of GED holders in higher education. Relative emphasis: * research, theory, practice

Do High School Dropouts Benefit From Obtaining a GED?

This article uses longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth for the years 1979-1991 to study whether male high school dropouts’ trajectories of wages, annual number of hours worked, and annual earnings are affected by acquisition of the General Educational Development (GED) credential. Our analysis takes into account potential heteroscedasticity and possible autocorrelation among the error terms pertaining to different years of longitudinal data on the same individual. We find that acquisition of the GED is associated with an increase in the rate of wage growth. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that some dropouts, after obtaining a GED, search for a better paying job or enter a training program.