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GED Testing Program Participation Continues to Rebound

Participation in the GED Testing Program in the United States rose 1.3 percent in the third full year of the new test series, the General Educational Development (GED) Testing Service revealed in a report released Wednesday.

The total number of United States candidates tested increased to 665,927 in 2004 from 657,239 in 2003, while the total number of people who passed the GED rose 4.7 percent to 405,724 from 387,470 in 2003.  In addition, 570,217 candidates completed the test battery, up 3.2 percent from 2003 (552,396).

Who Passed the GED? GED 2004 Statistical Report is published by the GED Testing Service and details the general characteristics and performance of individuals who participated in the testing program and passed the tests.

In 2000, 811,200 United States residents took one or more of the five GED Tests and 484,187 passed the test battery.  Participation skyrocketed in 2001 with the phase out of the 1998 test battery, resulting in more than 1 million test takers and 650,574 passers.  In 2002, participation rates fell dramatically with only 557,364 test takers and 329,515 test passers.

Again this year, the report provides some limited demographic data regarding the ethnicity of test takers and test passers.  Worldwide, 54.7 percent of GED candidates were white, 22.0 percent were African American, and 18.2 percent were of Hispanic origin, while 17.6 percent did not identify their ethnicity.  In the United States, 55.3 percent of candidates were white, 21.5 were African American, 18.1 percent were of Hispanic origin, and 2.7 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native.

The data for individuals worldwide who passed the GED Tests was similar:  63.5 percent were white, 16.4 percent were African American and 15.4 percent were of Hispanic origin, while 20 percent did not identify their ethnicity.  In the United States, 64.2 percent of test passers were white, 15.8 percent were African American, and 15.3 percent were of Hispanic origin, while 17.5 percent did not identify their ethnicity.

Other Findings

Other relevant findings contained in the report:

• In 2004, only one in 100 adults in the United States without a high school diploma passed the GED Tests and earned their jurisdiction's high school diploma.
• The average age of GED passers in the United States was 23.7 years, down slightly from 2003 to the same as in 2002 and almost one year younger than the average age of all 2004 United States candidates at 24.7 years.  More than one-quarter (26.2 percent) of all GED Test passers were between the ages of 20 and 24.
• The percent of passers age 16 to 18 fell by 2.9 percentage points compared to 2002.  In 2003, less than one in five passers were under 18 years of age (14.6 percent were 17 years of age and 3.9 percent were 16 years of age compared with 15.8 percent and 4.4 percent in 2002, respectively) and another 16.8 percent of passers were 18 years of age.  In order to test, students under the age of 18 must meet their state's compulsory attendance requirements and state GED age requirements (see page 44 of the report).
• Test passers in 2004 were more likely to be men than women: 57.5 percent of test passers were men and 42.5 percent were women.
• More 35 percent of GED passers reported completing 11 or more years of formal education, while another 29.2 percent left school after completing the tenth grade.
• Nearly half of passers (44.1 percent) were out of school for two years or less, and almost one in five (19.6 percent) were last enrolled in school three to five years ago.
• The United States passing rate was 71.2 percent, up slightly from 70.5 percent in 2002.  Thirty-one states surpassed the average passing rate with the highest rates in Iowa (97.6 percent), Delaware (95.7 percent) and North Dakota (97.2 percent).  The lowest passing rates were found in New Jersey (52.9 percent), the District of Columbia (54.2 percent), and Alabama (56.0 percent).
• United States test passers scored the highest on the Language Arts, Reading Test (mean 578) and the lowest on the Mathematics Test (mean 501).  The overall average standard score for five tests was 537.  A perfect score is 800.
• Some 62 percent of all United States test passers indicated that they took the tests for educational reasons.  Some 48.8 percent cited employment, including 39.5 percent seeking a better job.

The GED Tests consist of content area tests in reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies.  The tests also measure communication, information-processing, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.  A rigorous exam, passing scores for the GED Tests are set at a level sufficient to ensure that just six in 10 graduating high school seniors will pass.

The GED Testing Service is a program of the American Council on Education, a comprehensive association of the nation's colleges and universities dedicated to higher education issues and advocacy on behalf of quality higher education programs.  Counted among the Council's members are more than 1,800 accredited degree-granting colleges and universities and higher education related associations, organizations, and corporations.

Who Passed the GED? GED 2004 Statistical Report (Item #250704) is available for $22 per copy plus $6.95 shipping and handling from the GED Fulfillment Service, Department 191, Washington, DC 20055-0191 or by calling (301) 632-6758.  Information may also be downloaded from the GEDTS web site at www.gedtest.org.