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In 2014, GED testing as we know it will cease.

The nonprofit General Educational Development testing program, known officially as GED Testing Services, has been purchased by Pearson Vue Testing, a for-profit  company.

As a result, the GED program, in the next two years, will undergo its biggest redesign in its 69-year history and become more challenging to pass, officials said.

The GED is a test for people who never finished high school. Passing the test will give them the equivalent of a high school diploma. The currentversion of the GED test in Alabama was revised slightly in 2002 to reflect career and college-ready content standards. That test became more demanding, especially in the area of math.

Scheduled for revamping in 2012, the test overhaul was delayed because of the purchase.

After January 2014, test-takers will no longer use pencil and paper. Everything will be completed on computer, including essay writing. There will be two separate scoring categories: high school curriculum knowledge and preparedness for entering college or a career.

“Ultimately,it will be harder to obtain a GED diploma once these changes go into effect,” said Donnie Sweeney, director of the Northwest-Shoals Community College Adult Education Program. “I don’t see that computer-based is better because some people today that take the test don’t have those typing skills.”

Sweeney said GED test-takers two years from now must have keyboarding skills. More knowledge in math will be required and other portions of the test will be more in depth to coincide with Alabama’s course of study.

John Vines, Alabama’s director for GED Testing, said the GED Testing Service in Washington, D.C., will continue under the American Council on Education and its name will remain the same.

“It’s probably time for the test to go to a computer-based system,” he said.

“The thought was that it might provide more testing opportunities. The plan for the various states is to continue using the existing testing centers as well as any additional centers provided by Pearson Vue.”


Source: http://www.timesdaily.com/stories/New-GED-test-coming-in-2014,185687