By Rebecca Childs | Staff writer
As schools move to adapt to Common Core standards, testing for alternative diplomas must adapt as well. Starting Jan.1, 2014, the nation will transition from five General Educational Development (GED) tests to four. Adults who have not completed all five tests by Dec. 31, 2013, will have to start from test number one of the new four.
The new tests will focus on testing literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and computer literacy. In 2012, the GED Testing Service switched to a computer-based format in order to test basic computer literacy, and this policy will continue.
The GED Testing Service altered the tests before, in 1978, 1988, and 2002. A.J. Laird, College Connection Coach at Gateway Technical College’s Kenosha Campus, saw the effects of such changes.
“It’s a mad dash when there is a whole new set of tests and rules,” Laird said.
He described Gateway during the changes of 2002: there were extra testing sessions being scheduled around the clock, while any and all available proctors administered the tests. He expects these changes will look similar on Gateway’s campus, as GED-seekers attempt to make the January deadline.
Along with other changes, there will be a price increase in the GED tests. In Wisconsin, the tests will increase from $115 ($20 per test with a $15 fee) to $135.
“Some agencies and organizations will help people to underwrite the cost of the test. In addition, test takers can pay for one test at a time so that they will have time to save up money,” said Beth Lewis, Alternative Education & GED/High School Equivalency Diploma Administrator of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
“The GED is a very economic choice, because test takers only pay for processing, the diploma and the tests. I hope the new price doesn’t affect folks trying to get that done,” said Laird.
The GED is most popular among adults, ages 19 to 24, while only 21.7 percent of test takers were of age to attend high school, ages 16 to 18, last year, according to the GED Testing Service’s 2012 report.
“Only high school students who are 17 and older may access the GED tests through the HSED and a contract with Gateway Technical College. No high school student may quit high school and go to Gateway to complete – – those students must wait until they are 18.5 years old,” said Lewis.
Still, there are other options for graduation.
The Iowa Test of Educational Development costs only $6 per attempt, much less than the GED tests, which cost $20 per test. The ITED is also computer-based, and anyone 18 years of age or a 2014 cohort with less than 17 credits is eligible to take it.
“(The ITED test is) an alternative route to graduation for students who do not complete the necessary credits to graduate through the traditional approach,” said Che Kearby, an ITED test administrator.
“This is just an alternative way of graduating from KUSD as not every student finds success in the same way at the same time in their life,” said Kearby.
“I always believe that we need to have multiple options for people to finish school – – just like in most communities we have multiple grocery stores, multiple pharmacies, multiple churches,” Lewis said. “One size does not fit all and we want to be able to help as many people as possible complete high school and move on to their future plans.”
“I graduated at the top of my class and went on to college and graduate school, I have a relative who quit school at ninth grade and needed a way to move on with his future plans,” she said.
As school shifts to help those who seek to finish the GED tests, alternative graduation options adapt.