In 2014 the GED (high school equivalency) got privatized -- and failed 2/3 of students,
Last edited Sat Jan 9, 2016, 09:47 PM - Edit history (7)
while doubling the cost to take the test. Of course, by failing more, they're hoping that more students will opt to spend the money to re-take.
In the year before the new test, 743,000 students took the old GED and the majority passed. (560,000). In the year after the new test, only 248,000 took the test and only 86,000 passed. So there was a drop from 560,000 GED degrees to 86,000 in a single year.
Tests can only be given on computers at Pearson centers, which are often in areas inaccessible to people without cars, which further limits the numbers of test takers.
The GED used to be administered by a non-profit that sold it to the British-based multinational, Pearson Vue. (The profiteering testing company that's behind so many of our tests.)
So all these high-school dropouts who at one point would have been able to get a GED are now blaming themselves for not being able to take the test or for failing it -- when we are the ones who let them down.
ON UPDATE -- this is another example of "institutionalized racism."
In the last year of the old GED, 2013, 57 percent of the candidates were non-white. Yet, since the typical candidate was almost 28, s/he came from a class that should have been about 59% white (based on numbers from 2002 -- which probably underestimate the number for white students since it is for all students K-12 and higher grades had more white kids.) Therefore, privatizing this test had a disproportionate effect on minorities -- yet another example of institutionalized (and almost invisible) racism.
http://www.scholarsstrategynetwork.org/brief/how-privatization-ged-high-school-equivalency-degrees-has-created-new-roadblocks-poor
Dynamics in the realm of education reform are also transforming the GED. Ostensibly as part of a national push to “reform” K-12 education, the GED was “privatized” – sold – by the nonprofit organization that previously administered the high school equivalency test as a public service. Supporters of this change argued that the private sector would administer the test in a more rigorous manner that would send a clear message to students that staying in high school through graduation would be preferable to dropping out and counting on getting a GED later. Beginning in January 2014, the GED became a proprietary trademark of Pearson Vue, a for-profit multi-national corporation heavily involved in all aspects of national education politics and standardized testing. The content of the GED was made more difficult, and other aspects also changed. The test became computer-based and people must now take the test at certified Pearson test centers, paying a fee online that nearly doubled the cost from $60 to $120.
These changes have hindered many individuals who hope to prepare for and pass the GED test. The test content is now so difficult that even with preparation, many cannot pass. Preparing for the test now requires access to a computer, but many aspirants do not have such access – and many programs that used to help students do not have a bank of computers. In practice, this means that prep programs can no longer be run at convenient locations in low-income communities. And the requirement that the test itself must be completed at a Pearson-certified center makes it more difficult for many to get to the testing location, especially rural residents without cars. The new electronic format can also become a barrier, because people must become computer-literate even before they prepare to handle the test content. These new barriers hike costs, creating obvious difficulties for low-income people who struggle to afford food or to pay the rent. Many of them find the $120 fee an insurmountable expense, and online payments can also be challenging for those who lack credit cards or bank accounts. Requiring online payment rather than permitting the use of cash or a money order means that many individuals must purchase single-use credit cards that have a hefty activation fee.
The upshot of the privatizing changes in GED prep and testing is dramatically visible in testing statistics. In 2013, 743,000 people completed the GED test and 560,000 passed. But following the privatization of the GED and the implementation of Pearson’s new requirements in 2014, only 248,000 aspirants took the test and mere 86,000 passed! Obviously, these are precipitous decreases in the ranks of test takers and new GEDs. The huge harm done speaks for itself.
Correcting a Wrong Turn
Rather than leading to positive reforms, corporate ownership of the process for certifying high school equivalency degrees has raised still higher barriers for the poor, making it harder for those who have not completed high school to obtain an equivalency diploma as a route to improved employment prospects. In reality, the recent changes are condemning people without a diploma to a life of poverty – and given the correlation between education and health, reducing their life expectancy as well. This means that privatization is more than just a failed reform experiment. It is a moral issue, because a ruse for reform has turned out to make it harder for people to get ahead in life. Meaningful education reform, by definition, should increase access and improve educational outcomes rather than create higher barriers and limit people’s options. Basic considerations of social justice demand a change of course for the GED. At this point, an outright reversal of the recent privatization of the GED may not be likely. But citizens and reformers alike need to push for basic changes and demand sufficient public funding and support for adult education programs designed to prepare students. The GED must, once again, become a realistic option for hundreds of thousands of mostly low-income Americans who aspire to a better life for themselves, their families, and the larger community.
Information about the old GED here:
http://www.gedtestingservice.com/uploads/files/5b49fc887db0c075da20a68b17d313cd.pdf
The racial and ethnic distributions of candidates (Table 6 on pages 26–27) have remained relatively stable during the 2002 series of the GED® test. However, this year there was an increase in testing for the Hispanic ethnic group in particular. Of all candidates who indicated ethnicity when they tested in 2013, 42.8% were white, 26.9% African American, 24.8% Hispanic, 2.4% American Indian/Alaska Native, 2.3% Asian, and 0.6% Pacific Islander/Hawaiian. The percentage of African American test-takers has increased from 20.6% in 2003 to 24.8% in 2013.
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cge.asp
From fall 2002 through fall 2012, the number of White students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools decreased from 28.6 million to 25.4 million, and their share of public school enrollment decreased from 59 to 51 percent.
= new reply since forum marked as read
