Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 5, 1 May 1988 — Revised GED Tests Announced [ARTICLE]

Revised GED Tests Announced

All states, including Hawaii, Canadian provinces and U. S. territories will be using the new Revised Tests of General Education Development (GED) by December, 1988. Several states and the District of Columbia initiated administration of the new tests in January. GED credentials are accepted as the equivalent of a high school diploma for purposes of employment, promotion and licensing. Colleges and universities now accept satisfactory GED test scores in plaee of completed high school grade transcripts for admissions.

The most striking change in the GED tests is the inclusion of a direct writing sample (essay). The essay questions are chosen to test the examinees' ability to organize and present a written response to a topic of general interest to adults. No specialized knowledge is required to responsed to a topic. Examinees will have 45 minutes to write their essays whieh will be graded holistically, a scoring method that judges a pieee of writing for its overall effectiveness. Examinees will receive one score that combines results from the essay and the multiple ehoiee portion of the writing skills tests.

The GED Testing Service does not expect mueh change in the pass rates for adults. Adult educators in Hawaii were informed of the changes in the GED Tests well in advance, and therefore the adult education programs and instructional programs have been developed to prepare students for the change in the tests. In 1986 more than 700,000 people took the GED tests with more than 480,000 passing and qualifying for a high school equivalency diploma. In Hawaii, 2,500 adult students took the GED test. Fifteen hundred passed and qualified for a high school diploma. About 1,400 of the examinees qualified for education or training beyond the high school level.

The GED Test must be taken at one of the 11 Department of Education Community School for Adults throughout the State of Hawaii. Information on the GED test dates may be obtained from an adult community school. Hawaii's GED Administrator is Noboru Higa, Adult and Early Childhood Section, Office of Instructional Services, Department of Education. Telephone number 395-9451.