The GED
By: James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries, Nicholas S. Mader
Contributors: Humphries, John Eric; Mader, Nicholas S.; National Bureau of Economic Research
Series: NBER working paper series -- working paper 16064; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research : Online) -- working paper no. 16064.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Format: Electronic resource
Description: "The General Educational Development (GED) credential is issued on the basis of an eight hour subject-based test.  The test claims to establish equivalence between dropouts and traditional high school graduates, opening the door to college and positions in the labor market.  In 2008 alone, almost 500,000 dropouts passed the test, amounting to 12% of all high school credentials issued in that year.  This chapter reviews the academic literature on the GED, which finds minimal value of the certificate in terms of labor market outcomes and that only a few individuals successfully use it as a path to obtain post-secondary credentials.  Although the GED establishes cognitive equivalence on one measure of scholastic aptitude, recipients still face limited opportunity due to deficits in noncognitive skills such as persistence, motivation and reliability.  The literature finds that the GED testing program distorts social statistics on high school completion rates, minority graduation gaps, and sources of wage growth.  Recent work demonstrates that, through its availability and low cost, the GED also induces some students to drop out of school.  The GED program is unique to the United States and Canada, but provides policy insight relevant to any nation's educational context"--National Bureau of Economic Research web site.
Notes: Title from PDF file as viewed on 6/24/2010.

Includes bibliographical references.

Also available in print.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.