GED about to get more rigorous
By Motoko Rich, New York Times
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The high school equivalency exams taken by people who dropped out of school and immigrants seeking a foothold in the American education system are about to get harder and potentially more expensive, causing concern that fewer will take and pass the exams.
At a time when a high school diploma — much less an equivalency certificate — is losing currency in the labor market, exams being introduced in January will start to be aligned with the Common Core, a set of rigorous academic standards for kindergarten through 12th grade that 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted.
In an echo of the debate surrounding the standards in elementary and secondary education, instructors and officials at adult education centers worry that increasing complexity could demoralize a population that already struggles to pass the current test, commonly known as the GED.
General Educational Development high school equivalency exam.
The key word in the description of the test is “equivalency”. It is meant to be a test to prove that even though someone may not have completed a formal education program and received a High School Diploma, they have achieved the same knowledge level as someone who did.
If you read the whole story, you find the human element is Maria Balvin,21, a single mother of two children, ages 2 and 3.