Testing for GED students to undergo a major facelift in two years
It may seem a long way off, but GED testing will be changing at the beginning of 2014. For students in the process of earning a GED, they have until the end of 2013 to finish under the current procedures or start over again.
People who have started the process of taking the five timed tests that are part of earning a high school diploma need to know that they should finish before the changes go into effect. The GED program was first developed for soldiers returning from World War II who had enlisted before finishing high school.
Over the years, the tests have been revised four times, with the last changes made in 2002.
“We wanted to get the word out,” said Jim Nicholson, director of the Adult Basic Education program for Willmar Community Education and Recreation.
“It’s just a very different procedure than what we have now; if anybody has started we encourage them to finish.”
Students who have not passed all of the tests by the end of 2013 will lose their scores and have to begin the process over.
In 2014, a new, more difficult series of tests will be in place, and the testing fee will double, to at least $120 for the series of tests. Practice tests and the GED tests will be taken on computers. Now, students take the tests on paper.
Christine Hilbert, chief examiner for the GED testing site at Ridgewater College, said she is a bit worried that there will be less personal contact with students as they prepare for and take the tests.
“We don’t know a lot yet” about the tests, Hilbert said. They know they will be based on a set of national standards that many states have adopted. The tests will reflect the standards for seniors in high school. Minnesota has adopted the national standards in some subject areas but has developed its own, more demanding standards in others.
Bonnie Pehrson is a testing examiner for ABE and handles testing in several county jails that offer GED classes. She said she hasn’t heard yet how the testing in the jails will be handled.
“Some people have had to quit school to help their families or got pregnant,” she said, and she enjoys seeing them gain that milestone. “It’s very rewarding.”
There will be a new requirement for students taking the test — typing/keyboarding speeds.
“Probably the biggest thing is getting people’s typing up to speed,” Nicholson said.
Because the tests are timed and will include several essays, students will need to type at least 35 wpm to finish them.
“Most students don’t come in with good typing skills, maybe 10 wpm,” he said. “A lot of them are great with their thumbs and texting.”
Pehrson said some students don’t even like to put their whole hands on a keyboard.