Marty’s Corner: New GED® Postsecondary Outcomes Data
In last month’s Marty’s Corner I shared data from GED Testing Service’s study of postsecondary progression rates under the 2014 GED program.
This month I am sharing data from a series of studies looking at how graduates of the GED perform once enrolled in college.
We are in the process of completing the first of these studies with a large community college district in the Western part of the US. This study identified over 1,300 GED® graduates from 2014 through 2018 who had enrolled in credit bearing courses. The table below summarizes some of our early findings from that study:
| PSE enrollment rate | Grade Point Averages in Credit-Bearing Courses and Credentialing
Rates – Students Scoring at GED CR+Credit level |
Grade Point Averages in Credit-Bearing Courses and Credentialing
Rates – Students Scoring at GED CR level |
Grade Point Averages in Credit-Bearing Courses and Credentialing Rates- Students Scoring at GED
HSE level |
| 40% enrolled prior to completing their GED(R) credential | 80% had GPA of 2.0 or higher | 74% had GPA of 2.0 or higher | 70% had GPA of 2.0 or higher |
| 58% had enrolled within 2 years of receiving their GED(R) credential | Mean GPA of 2.88 | Mean GPA of 2.48 | Mean GPA of 2.29 |
| 17% earned a PSE credential within the 4 -year period | 10% earned a PSE credential within the 4 -year period | 9% earned a PSE credential within the 4 -year period |
Overall, this data confirms our previous GEDTS research on progression to postsecondary education, as well as our hypotheses about GED graduate performance in college. Namely, we have expected that students scoring higher in the GED test should do better in credit-bearing college courses, and that students scoring at the GED CR level of above should be able to attain at least a “C” average (2.0) in their credit-bearing courses.
This is just a quick snapshot of some of the most recent data – we have other similar studies in progress and look forward to sharing data from these as they become available. In addition, we hope to obtain workforce data to be able to share information on how GED graduates perform in the jobs and careers.
–Martin Kehe, Vice President of Assessment Services for GED Testing Service
Any way we can find out Ohio Prison data? As in how many tested, how many passed, how many continued on, ?
Will you be so kind as to email me this data information. I would like to share this with the administration of my Adult Education Program.
Thank you,
Fran Brautigan
GED Instructor/Dept. Chair
Hi Fran,
Feel free to share this data directly from the articles. Right now we do not have it available in any additional format but will let you know if that changes at a later date.
Data too confusion for most! Me included
Do you have future plans to report on how these GPA data compare to high school graduates? I think that being able to give adult learners/GED candidates some numbers regarding GED recipient success in PSE vs. high school graduates could be a powerful motivator.
I would like to review a copy of the report. Currently, I am a adult education director and I would to learn more. Thanks
Dear ged.com admin, Thanks for the well-presented post!