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The Community
A Newsletter for GED Testing Professionals and Adult
Educators
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April 2010
Feature Stories
Crossing the Bridge Year
1 Postsecondary Study is Now Available
Many GED credential recipients say they want to go on to
further education, but do they actually follow up? GED Testing Service
began a three-year study in 2009 to address that question for three
cohorts of GED candidates (including more than a half million annually,
testing in 2003, 2004, and 2005). Research has completed its report on
the first year (2003) of this longitudinal study on postsecondary
experiences of GED credential recipients as of September 2009. The
report includes data on their enrollment, persistence, and completion.
Download it in PDF now—Crossing the Bridge Report (PDF; 3MB).
This Could Be Your Student! Nominate GED Grads for Missouri
Nursing Scholarship
[Winner of the 2009 American Nurses Credentialing Center/GEDTS
scholarship, Stephanie Morgan graduated with her Bachelor of Science in
Nursing this Spring.]
GED® Testing Service is once again pleased to partner with the
American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as they award one
postsecondary tuition scholarship to a GED graduate who is currently
enrolled in an accredited bachelor's degree nursing program in
Missouri.
During the Graduates Awards Dinner at the GED Administrators
Conference in St. Louis on July 28, 2010, the winner will be awarded a
one-time grant of $2,500. The scholarship will be paid by GED Testing
Service® directly to the designated institution.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Missouri resident at least eighteen years of age;
- Received Missouri GED credential within the last five years;
- Attended at least twelve hours at a Missouri AFL program;
- Must be pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing and be enrolled in
such a program at the time of application;
- Must have a cumulative college GPA of 3.0 or higher;
- Will be given preference if he/she will begin his/her junior or
senior year during the 2010–11 academic year;
- Will be given preference if he/she shows adequate documentation of
financial need;
- Should be a role model;
- Must be willing to participate in the Graduate Awards Dinner and
speak about his/her experiences related to earning a GED credential
(travel expenses will be covered by Missouri GED Testing Program);
- Should be willing to participate in state and national GED Testing
Service marketing campaigns (does not involve extensive time, and is
scheduled at the convenience of the scholarship recipient);
- Must have someone who is familiar with their work include their
information as a nominator; and
- Must submit a short personal statement (autobiographical in nature),
an unofficial college transcript and a picture in JPEG format; the
personal statement and photo may be used with their express written
permission in marketing materials
Contact to request applications:
Bill Poteet
Missouri GED Administrator
(573) 751-3504
bill.poteet@dese.mo.gov
The deadline for submission of all application material is
Friday, May 21, 2010.
Call for Nominations! 2010 GED Testing Service Awards
Know an inspiring GED graduate? Impressed every day by your
colleague's contributions to GED testing or preparation? Well now is the
chance to recognize them!
GED Testing Service has opened the nominations for the 2010 GED
Testing Service Awards. Nominations may be submitted for the three
categories below until Friday, May 21. That's only a few weeks away so
don’t wait! Click the links below and submit an online nomination
now for the GED graduate, colleague or inspiration you think best fits
the criteria for each award.
- 2010 Cornelius P. Turner Award—A GED graduate
who has made outstanding contributions to society and directly to the
GED testing program.
- 2010 Distinguished Service Award—A GED
Administrator who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to his/her
program and has made outstanding contributions to support
test-takers.
- 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award—An individual
with sustained and continuing commitment to the GED testing program
based on service, commitment and contributions.
Examiner's Corner
What is a
Testing Irregularity and How Does an Examiner Report an
Incident?
Testing irregularities are any significant occurrence that generally
disrupts a candidate's ability to focus on testing, such as a fire alarm
or cell phone ringing, someone continuing to knock at a door, or loss of
electricity. Testing irregularities could result in an invalid measure
of the candidate's performance. Although many irregularities are out of
the direct control of the examiners, administering the tests in strict
accordance with GED Testing Service policies can minimize their impact.
Testing irregularities are reported on an L-40, Testing Irregularity
form. Forms are faxed to the jurisdictional GED Administrator and GED
Testing Service. More information concerning testing irregularities can
be found in the GED Polices and Procedures Manual (2008), section
9.1.
About the GED Tests
Fall 2010 Studies to Tryout
New Items and Equate New Official GED Practice Tests
In order to continue building the pool of eligible items for the next
test edition and to better prepare those currently planning to take the
2002 Series GED Tests, the Test Development Unit will be conducting two
studies in fall 2010.
An item tryout study will be conducted from September 27, 2010
through March 18, 2011. Participation will require each graduating high
school senior to take two content area tests containing newly developed
items. GED Testing Service plans on field-testing over 30 test forms. In
order to obtain the participation of at least 250 schools, GED Testing
Service will mail invitations to over 5,000 randomly selected schools
across the United States during the second week of May.
The equating study for two newly developed Official GED Practice
Tests will be conducted September 7, 2010–January 28, 2011.
Participation will require each graduating high school senior to take
either one or two content area tests. Over 2,000 randomly selected
schools were mailed invitations in early April.
For more details on each study, please contact Krystle Whitaker.
Examination Continues: Completeness
& Accuracy of IDB Item- and Score-Level Data
Data accuracy benefits everyone involved in the data collection
process: scoring sites, jurisdictions, GED Testing Service, and most
importantly, the test-takers themselves. GED Testing Service is working
to improve quality control and provide feedback on scoring and
International Database (IDB) uploading processes.
Last fall, IDB data from 2006 through 2008 were analyzed in order to
verify the completeness and accuracy of item- and score-level data.
Three categories of issues arose:
- Invalid Values (e.g., essay scores greater than 4, invalid math
coordinate grid values)
- Missing Data (e.g., item-level responses were missing)
- Critical Errors (error in calculation of raw and/or standard score,
incorrect test form designated)
Last December, each Official GED Tests Scoring Site was given a
report on the completeness and accuracy of item- and score-level data
specific to their site and asked to work immediately to resolve these
item- and score-level issues from that point forward. Data that had been
uploaded already did not need to be corrected.
Providing complete and accurate electronic uploads to the
IDB—including test item responses and test scores—is a
requirement of the GEDTS Scoring Site Annual Contract. In addition, the
uploaded data provide a way for GEDTS to assess the accuracy of a site's
scoring; scoring accuracy is an essential requirement of being an
Official GED Tests Scoring Site.
The second item- and score-level verification will take place next
month using IDB data from testing in the first quarter of 2010. At that
point GEDTS will be able to assess whether scoring sites have adequately
addressed all issues.
Research the GED Testing Program
Test Center Profile is
Launched
On April 12, the GED Testing Service Research unit launched a new Test
Center Profile, an electronic survey of Official GED Test Centers. The
Test Center Profile was designed to collect data on testing capacity and
potential capacity for computer-based testing. The electronic survey
went out to nearly 3,000 test centers and is due to be completed by May
7. As of April 19, about 35% of test centers had completed and submitted
their Test Center Profile and another 500 centers were working on
theirs. Results will be compiled in June 2010 and shared with GED
Administrators at the July conference. Test center results will also be
summarized separately and shared with the field, as well as employed in
later research studies.
Zhang Presents From GED Credential to College at AERA
In early May Jizhi Zhang, Research Associate, will present a
new paper, entitled From GED Credential to College: Patterns of
Participation in Postsecondary Education Programs, at the annual
meeting of the Adult Education Research Association (AERA) in Denver.
This research report employed data from the National Household Education
Surveys of 2001 and 2005 and found differences in postsecondary
participation by gender and age when comparing GED credential recipients
with traditional high school graduates. The paper will be published on
the GED Testing Service website, www.GEDtest.org, in late May.
GED Option School Report to Collect Data from Local Sites
The GED Option program offers states (currently 11) a waiver to
offer in-school preparation for the GED Test. This is available to
at-risk secondary students with dramatic credit deficiencies when
compared with their peers.
Partner Outreach and Research worked together with GED Option
Coordinators to develop and field test a new electronic survey of local
schools or districts providing GED Option services. Local schools in 11
states work with in-school youth with a significant lack of high school
credits; passing the GED Test is one requirement of completing this
alternative education program. The electronic GED Option School Report
will provide comprehensive local data which will be published in the
second annual GED Option Statistical Report for 2009-2010 this winter.
Schools will provide data through July 16.
Marketing the GED Testing Program
On the Record about
Misleading Online Testing Programs
A publication in North Carolina gave an entire article over to
the discussion of online programs that purport to offer GED testing and
the damage it causes for test-takers. The story deals with this
often-confusing issue in a clear and direct way. Read the full story online.
Last Month
Did You Miss Last Month's
Newsletter? Here are the Most-Read Stories from March:
- GED
Testing Service Announces Big, New Plans at COABE
- Common
Core Standards Draft Available
- Brochures
and Fact Sheets Available for Your Center
- Ever
Wonder: How Do GED Graduates Fare in Postsecondary Education, or How
Does Preparation Affect GED Test Performance?
- Examiner's
Corner: Emergency Plans
- Short
Background Document on the Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Happenings
Available
Local News
Children Inspired by
Library and GED Graduate, Dr. Walter Smith
Although his path was not easy, Smith encourages children to reach even
higher heights than he did. Earning his GED credential at age 23, Smith
earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Florida A&M University
and went on to become president of the university from 1977 to
1985. Read the full story online.
Cost of a Diploma is Not Just
Money
Non-accredited correspondence schools, distance-learning
schools, diploma mills. A story from North Carolina addresses these
entities candidly and clearly, reminding the public about the danger of
fraudulent GED credentials. Read the full story online.
We Need Your Help!
To submit your own stories about local GED stories about
success in preparation, testing or innovative ideas in action related to
the GED testing program, send the link and any associated pictures to help@GEDtestingservice.com.
Quick Links
Use them. Share Them. Love
Them.
Local Headlines
New York
Students, teachers rally for adult ed funding
Georgia
JEMC Foundation awards $10,000 grant to help students
earn GED credentials
Ohio
Earning her GED [credential], planning for college and
building a better life for her daughter
North Carolina
Adult education students build homes for
community
Nebraska
GED credential is a step on the path out of poverty in
‘40 Nights in Lincoln'
Please direct questions about this page to:
help@GEDtestingservice.com
This page last updated on 05/07/2010
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