Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 10, 1 October 1988 — GED Testing Increases [ARTICLE]

GED Testing Increases

The American Council on Education recently released information on the number of people taking General Equivalency Diploma (GED) tests during 1987. According to Douglas R. Whitney, director of the Council's GED testing service, "Since 197 1, the GED testing program has enabled over six and a half million adults to obtain formal

recognition of their educational development through their attainment of a high school equivalency diploma. Annually, one of every seven high school diplomas in the United States is based on results from the GED tests. These credentials are accepted by more than 90 percent of U.S. co!lege and universities and by most employers to satisfy requirements for a secondary education diploma."

According to Noboru Higa, Hawan State Department of Education (DOE) Administrator, Adult and Early Childhood Section, 2,821 people took the GED tests in Hawaii during 1987. This represents an increase of 12 percent from 1986. More than 1,500 people passed the test and qualified for a high school diploma. Approximately 56 percent of the examinees planned further study. Since the program began in 1971, more than 24,600 credentials have been issued based on the GED test results. Presently, there are 13 official GED test centers operating in Hawaii.

In all jurisdictions served by the GED testing program in 1987, 758,367 people took the GED tests — three percent more than in 1986. As a result of testing conducted at over 3,300 testing locations, approximately 74 percent of the examinees earned scores that qualified them for a high school equivalency credential. The average age of 1987 examinees was 26.7 years. Nearly 29 percent of the examinees were 19 years or younger; about 41 percent were between 20 and 29 years, approximately 19 percent were between 30 and 39 years; and 11 percent were 40 or older.

The examinees had completed an average of 9.9 years of schooling before leaving high school. More than half of the examinees reported they were planning to continue their education or training beyond the high school level. For further information concerning the GED Tests in Hawaii, please eall the Adult Education Section at 395-9451.