General Educational Development Test
The General Educational Development Test is a test in the USA and Canada for people without a school leaving certificate to obtain a certificate comparable to upper secondary school level . He, instead of the high school will be completed -Abschlusses and used by many employers and colleges as equivalent to High School Diploma assessed. The admission restrictions are low (minimum age, legal residence in the country); the test is also open to foreigners. In 2008, 680,000 people with an average age of 25 graduated in the USA, with a pass rate of 73%.
In Germany, such a diploma can be compared to an external examination for secondary school leaving certificates . However, the recognition depends on the applicant's previously completed training and must be submitted to the certificate recognition offices of the federal states in each individual case ; or for courses of study at the individual universities .
history
In 1942, the US Department of Defense asked the American Council on Education for a test catalog with which war veterans drafted before they graduated from secondary school could prove their level of knowledge in order to find suitable civilian jobs or to join enroll at a university. The test guidelines were revised several times, in the third revision in 1988 with the addition of an essay (which is usually also required in university entrance tests). In 2011, an agreement was signed with the Pearson media group to convert the test into a computerized form.
Until about 2000, universities in the USA awarded the vast majority of study places (around 80%) based on the SAT / ACT results and the rest according to their own entrance tests, interviews and social criteria. Thus, in fact, the GED test or the High School Diploma (HSD) no longer included, but only the SAT / ACT / CPT (College Placement Test) a real university entrance qualification. The situation, which after the acquisition of GED / HSD still required preparatory courses and exams, was widely discussed around the year 2000. It turned out that the SAT / ACT / CPT certificates did not provide significantly better information about possible study success than the GED / HSD certificates - instead, the test industry was criticized, which creates and carries out the tests and benefits economically from the excessive tests . With the reception of the discussion, the educational reform of the No Child Left Behind Act 2001/2002 and the reform of the GED test from 2002, the trend has reversed and the GED test is accepted by many universities as a sufficient entry certificate.
Test conditions
The test consists of five sub-exams in the areas "Language Arts: Writing" (writing skills), "Social Studies", "Science", "Language Arts: Reading" (literature), and "Mathematics" (mathematics) . In some states, these are taken in one day; in others, they can be taken over two or three days. If a partial exam is not passed, it can be repeated within a year - in some states, however, only after a waiting period. For each partial test, around 25 variants typically circulate at any point in time.
The test sheets are (in addition to the essay) designed as multiple-choice tests, which has been criticized many times (and in the revision in 2002 led to the multiple-choice tests being made more difficult). A total of 2250 points (an average of 450 points per partial examination) and at least 410 points in each partial examination are required to pass. Many universities, however, require an average of 500 points. A maximum of 800 points is possible in each partial test.
Since the GED test was seen as too easy by the public, a selection of high school graduates began to take the test from 2002. Of these, only 70% pass the GED test on average. However, the registration rates have also fallen since 2002 - before that, the GED test was also carried out to set yourself apart from general job applications, and not as preparation for university studies (previously only 30% subsequently enrolled at a university, since the revision it has been 65%).
Costs vary widely - in some states like Arkansas the GED test is generally free, in many others it is free for veterans and teenagers under the age of 21. If contributions are made, they range from $ 7.50 in North Carolina to $ 100 in Florida (2008 data). Depending on the region, the preparatory courses and school materials are available free of charge from the certified GED testing facilities - most of the 3,200 GED centers are connected to adult education facilities .
Sources and individual references
- ↑ GED Testing Service (July 2009): GED Testing Program Statistical Report 2008. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF, last accessed May 22, 2018)
Web links
- About GED Testing ( Memento from December 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )