Why Is the New GED So Hard?

And even more expensive.

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Complex Original

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The GED, a.k.a. the high school equivalency test, has for years been the go-to option for people without a diploma wishing to get a better job or to continue their education, which now may include free community college. The GED, however, began to lose credibility as its efficiency to test what one would learn in four years of high school—useless math and Shakespeare—came into question. It was too easy. A new version of the GED is now too damn hard. One guy who just got a Masters degree from Columbia couldn’t pass it. 

In fact, a lot of people can’t pass it. Two years ago, 540,535 people passed the GED, while only 86,500 people passed the new test in 2014. The new GED which was just instated replaced one that had been used since 2002.   

Once a go-to, partially because it was the only  high-school equivalence test, the GED has since been used by fewer states. To make matters worse, the price to take the test has shot up to four times its price, from around $30 to $120. This only deters people from taking the expensive test, especially if there’s a good chance they’ll fail and will have to take it, and pay, again. 

According to statistics, 85% of people didn’t return to take the old test after failing. Imagine what that stat will be now? GED test makers need to find a happy medium for the test to be fair. The GED was meant to be an aid to students, not another obstacle. 

[via Daily Beast]

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