NPR posted a story on Saturday, Feb. 18, titled, "In Today's Economy, How Far Can a GED Take You?" On first glance the story seems discouraging to students who are pursuing the GED because it says that GED students "are no better than dropouts when it comes to their chances of getting a good job."
The story is told from the point of view of high schools who want students to finish their high school studies rather than opting for the GED route. I don't know of any Basic Ed instructor who would quarrel with that comment. Yes, the high school diploma is preferable, but (and there is always a "but" when talking about life) the GED is still a worthwhile goal.
An author, interviewed for the story, claims that employers are looking for "things like perseverence and tenacity, and those kinds of qualities are not measured by the GED." Huh? The author has probably not worked with GED students. If he did, he would know that GED students will not succeed unless they have the drive to complete what, admittedly, should have been completed when they were 18 or 19. The idea that the GED is a shortcut to education is rather insulting. The GED is a credential that shows an employer that the student has the discipline to pursue the certificate after high school days, that allows a student to move on to post-secondary classes, and that gives the student a little hope in tough times. How far can a GED take you? How far do you want to go?
I would love to administer the GED predictor tests that my students take to the critics of the certificate cited in this story. I wonder how they might score and I wonder what they might think of this "shortcut" then?
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