High School Equivalency Exams

Education news, analysis, and opinion about tests, including the GED, that grant students a high school equivalency certificate or diploma without having graduated high school
College & Workforce Readiness News in Brief Results Rebound on GED Exam
Passing rates on the GED have rebounded from a big drop after a major redesign of the high school equivalency exam in 2014, but the number of people taking it has dropped by more than half.
Catherine Gewertz, March 6, 2018
1 min read
Assessment GED Passing Rates Rise, But Fewer Students Take Exam After Redesign
Passing rates on the GED have bounced back to normal levels, four years after a major redesign of the equivalency exam caused a sharp drop.
Catherine Gewertz, February 21, 2018
3 min read
College & Workforce Readiness States Explore New Routes to High School Completion Without Equivalency Exams
Illinois is making plans that would allow adults to earn high school equivalency without passing tests like the GED.
Catherine Gewertz, January 4, 2018
3 min read
College & Workforce Readiness New High School Equivalency Tests Gain Ground
Competitors to the GED continue to erode its market share after it was updated to reflect the common core, and got more expensive, too.
Catherine Gewertz, May 20, 2016
1 min read
School & District Management News in Brief Board Chairman Accused of Cheating on GED Resigns
The chairman of a Kentucky school board, who dropped out of high school at 17, has been accused by Kentucky state police of cheating on the GED exam.
The Associated Press, May 10, 2016
1 min read
School & District Management Kentucky School Board Chairman Accused of Cheating On GED Exam
Police allege that an adult education teacher took the GED exam for Knox County School Board Chairman Dexter Smith, who was taking the exam to settle questions about his education qualifications.
Denisa R. Superville, April 22, 2016
2 min read
College & Workforce Readiness School Board Chief in Hot Water Over Alleged GED Cheating
A Kentucky school board chief allegedly had someone else take the GED for him, in an ill-fated attempt to settle questions about his high school diploma.
Catherine Gewertz, April 22, 2016
2 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Passing Score Lowered on New GED Exam
If all states decide to go along with the lower cutoff score, an estimated 25,000 more test-takers could be eligible for a GED credential.
Catherine Gewertz, January 26, 2016
4 min read
Reading & Literacy GED Lowers Passing Score, Tens of Thousands More Could Get HS Credentials
The change was prompted by data showing that students who passed the revised GED are doing better in college than recent high school graduates.
Catherine Gewertz, January 20, 2016
4 min read
College & Workforce Readiness GED Lowers Passing Score, Tens of Thousands More Could Receive HS Credentials
The move comes in the wake of data showing that GED-passers were doing better in college than students with high school diplomas.
Catherine Gewertz, January 20, 2016
4 min read
College & Workforce Readiness New High School Equivalency Tests Make More Inroads
HiSET, one of the new alternatives to the GED, has practically pushed the GED off the landscape in Wyoming. GED test-taking has declined in other states that offer equivalency-test alternatives, too.
Catherine Gewertz, January 13, 2016
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness More States Consider Awarding Diplomas for GED Passage
The District of Columbia becomes the first to analyze the GED's rigor, and decide, based on that analysis, that students who pass it should get a high school diploma.
Catherine Gewertz, November 23, 2015
2 min read
Larry Gorski prepares to take the TASC test toward his high school equivalency diploma in an adult education class in Cheektowaga, N.Y. The GED was revised last year, opening the way for competing tests such as the TASC, to take hold.
Larry Gorski prepares to take the TASC test toward his high school equivalency diploma in an adult education class in Cheektowaga, N.Y. The GED was revised last year, opening the way for competing tests such as the TASC, to take hold.
--Carolyn Thompson/AP
College & Workforce Readiness More Rigorous GED Spurs Jitters, Competition
The volume of high-school-equivalency testing dropped by half in 2014 after the General Educational Development exam was revised to align with the common-core standards.
May 1, 2015
4 min read
College & Workforce Readiness News in Brief Scores, Test-Takers Down for New GED Exam
The GED Testing Service, which offers the General Educational Development test in 40 states, reports about a 60 percent passing rate for students taking all four sections of its new computer-based test, down from about 65 percent in a typical year.
Caralee J. Adams, January 27, 2015
1 min read