The GEDPrep Connect tool can help your adult education program recruit, track and retain adult learners taking classes and the GED test.

Every day students are sharing their scores and selecting adult education programs they would like to connect with and start taking classes. In previous research we found that 34% of GED students are studying in a class, while 28% of students are unaware of GED prep programs and don’t know how to find them. We also found that 63% of students believe GED prep programs can help them pass the test and earn their credential.

The GEDPrep Connect tool is helping students across the country locate programs near them, while encouraging them to start or finish their GED testing process. Educators and administrators with access to GED Manager will be able to view email addresses and phone numbers of interested students that have selected their programs.

GEDPrep Connect is also useful for working with students that have already enrolled in your program and those actively taking the GED test at your location. 76% of students said they are likely or very likely to share their scores with their GED preparation program. With GED Manager access, educators can print batches of student score reports and passers reports with students who have shared their scores with your program. Educators can then create personalized learning plans for their students based on the scores.

More information about how you can use GEDPrep Connect and GED Manager to help meet your program and student success goals is available here.

Here at GED Testing Service we do understand that educators want to provide instruction for their students that accurately prepares them for the GED test.

We are also aware that many instructors and tutors create accounts and access student tools to get a better understanding of the preparation process and the student experience. But there is one avenue instructors can not explore—signing up for and taking the GED test.

When an educator signs up for and sits for the GED exam they are violating candidate rules and potentially harming the integrity of the test. Only students that have not credentialed are allowed to take the GED test. Educators that sign up for the test are violating the candidate rule agreement that they agree to when scheduling a test. These actions are also prohibited by GED testing policy and state rules.

Educators are also not allowed to utilize actual information or items that they or students report about after the test. For example—a student comes back and tells the teacher what they remember about a couple of test questions, then the teacher types up the questions and answers and uses them in instruction. Debriefing with a tester about test questions is a violation of the testing agreement with GED Testing Service, it’s important to be a role model of good behavior. Don’t encourage testers to talk about exact test items, it is okay for them to discuss general topics on the test.

Educators are allowed to create a mock GED testing account (you can not schedule an actual test) and see what students experience when signing up for GED test subjects. You can do this by creating an account with your First Name and use “Candidate” as your Last Name. By doing this the account will be flagged at GED Testing Service as a mock account and will not interfere with any data collection that we do related to testers.

These rules are in place to keep the testing process fair for all students who sit for the exam. We do encourage you to use item samplers, sample questions, study guides and tutorials for additional insight on what is included on the test.

Please visit our GED.com webpage dedicated to Educators and Administrators for resources to guide your instruction, free classroom materials, an archive of professional development webinars and much more.

—CT Turner, Senior Director of State Accounts & Government Relations for GED Testing Service

Rebecca Deierling, a corrections educator with the North Dakota Department of Corrections, shares her experience working with incarcerated GED students.

Can you tell me what your title is and the work you do with the North Dakota Department of Corrections?

I am a GED instructor at the North Dakota State Penitentiary and I teach Science, RLA, Social Studies, Civics, Read Right and Creative Writing. Each of the classes are designed to prepare the students for the GED test.

Can you tell me more about your background in adult education?

I have a degree in Criminal Justice and Social Science Secondary Education (two Bachelor’s degrees). I previously taught at a traditional high school before coming to adult education and corrections three years ago.

Congratulations on your recent award (North Dakota Adult Education Teacher of the Year), how do you feel about receiving this recognition as an educator?

I was really honored and really excited, it wasn’t expected. It’s really humbling, I share this award with everyone I work with. Corrections can be a really hard place to work at times.

One of the things I got the award for was project-based learning and other innovative ideas—and that’s because I have staff that allow me to do great things in the classroom. Sometimes you have to be more creative because of the restrictions that you’re faced with on a daily basis.

How does your work in corrections differ from your other teaching experiences?

There are a lot more security things you go through just to get to work and you work year-round because we’re not on the traditional academic calendar.

The biggest difference between my corrections students and traditional high school students is motivation. In (traditional) high school you go to school and get good grades because your parents tell you to and that’s what is expected.

In adult education you are doing it because you want to and you know the importance of it. The students are working for themselves—their accomplishments and victories mean so much more to them.

A lot of them say when it comes to education they feel great, like they’re a real person and not in prison. Many of them didn’t have people who believed in them and they didn’t believe in themselves. I do find this more rewarding than working in a traditional high school environment.

What are some of the challenges you face working in corrections? How are you working through some of the instructional challenges?

The biggest obstacle is the internet, they have iPads with downloaded information but they can’t look up things and do online research. I print off things for them but some of them will not know how to find false news and stuff like that because they aren’t having that experience with using the Internet.

When we’re dissecting (for science class) we can’t have scalpels. As an alternative, when we studied pollination we dissected worms, plants, bumblebees and grasshoppers. We did this without using sharp objects and we have microscopes for them to look closer.

I think hands-on learning is the best way to learn. My class was learning about pollination and wanted to learn more so we started a garden here, they are super proud of their garden. They take so much pride in what they have created and we eat the food that we grow and donate to others.

They are excited about the projects we’re doing. Something as simple as making homemade ice cream they loved it and asked for the recipe and directions and wanted to share with their children. Last year when it was cold outside we blew bubbles to see them freeze.

Do you have any current GED students or former students that were memorable? Why?

I had a guy in his late 40’s that had a rough life, didn’t care about education, didn’t want to be here, wanted me to exit him from the classes and he didn’t want to test. I finally got him to test and he passed. He screamed and jumped up and down and ran out immediately to call his wife and tell her.

How important do you think the GED program is for the corrections population? Have you noticed changes in your students once they have started studying for the test?

There are many statistics and facts that say getting your GED lowers the recidivism rate. We have some guys that have never filled out an application or a resume so we take them to a job fair and we actually hold one here in the facility.

We also have a welding program and any opportunity to better themselves is welcome. It boosts their confidence so much, a lot of them had a bad upbringing and they never had anyone believe in them.

What do you enjoy most about the work that you do?

I know test day is my favorite day, I think I get more excited than the guys do when they take their test.

They want to know their results so I make sure I bring the results to them. Many times I’m waiting outside their door and I’m jumping up and down for them.

There are some people that might not pass but you don’t give up on them, you get their writing skills up, you can learn to fill out an application better, look for ways to improve them. They like coming, they like learning, they like trying. Some need smaller goals and you work with them to achieve that.

What is your advice to other educators working with students in corrections?

Just keep doing what you’re doing, it takes a certain type of person to work in this environment.

Know that you’re making a huge difference. Any teacher that works in corrections and other adult education teachers are giving so much back.

Most people in GED classes probably didn’t do well in the traditional classroom, look for the fun stuff you need to do to help each student.

Daquanna Harrison is the founder of the Elevation Educational Consulting Group, an organization created to help adult education programs empower their educators and further support student success.

Could you tell me more about your organization and your role?

The organization is called Elevation Educational Consulting Group (EECG) and it’s been rolling since 2016. It came from a vision after seeing really great educators and how they were attached to adult ed and didn’t have an avenue to affect change in the field. People were building curriculums but weren’t well known, especially those working with small programs.

A lot of the work in the adult ed realm is professional development (PD), that’s everything from supporting PD content and understanding best practices and getting that info out to smaller organizations. We even post articles and we know that a lot of small orgs don’t have a means to find out about what’s going on. It really depends on what they need, that sometimes means we develop a PD plan and help their teachers get into teaching and learning from that.

How do you work with adult education programs and educators?

I have close to 15 years of being in adult education. I have been in programs as small as just me (going to libraries) to having $75K and a computer room. I really understand the range of program budgets. One of the biggest focuses for us is at the educator level, a lot of places focus on the student.

When the test changed in 2014, when the teachers got over their fears about it, the students started to be successful.

What’s your background in adult education and education in general?

My passion is helping teachers become great administrators and great trainers.

My first adult ed job was with the Department of Education Services in Washington, DC. I took the CASAS book and it was my job to find out what the students coming in really needed.

A lot of my adult ed life occurred in DC, I helped support a community based organization that was almost 100 percent volunteer and Americorps members. We took that and built an adult ed charter school and went from volunteer to a paid staff.

I started forcing my staff to present, I realized that many educators were reluctant to teach other educators, they experience impostor syndrome, we have to figure out a way to change the feeling that the nontraditional path to teaching in adult ed makes someone less qualified.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing adult educators and adult education programs?

I think the challenges are what makes great programs strong. Adult ed came from the idea of “be everything” for your students, we can no longer do that, we have to have partnerships—it can be at the student or educator level.

Programs really need to be prepared to have students understand the skills they need to have to get a job.

It’s also understanding that adult ed is changing, you don’t necessarily have to change but find partners that are already doing that.

How does your organization work with the GED test program?

When I’m supporting other adult education organizations I advise them to utilize the tools that are available and I help programs understand when students are ready for independent exploration and when they should incorporate that (resource) in class.

What work are you doing to bridge the gap between adult education students and workforce development skills?

A big piece to make sure students are work force ready is helping programs understand what workforce ready means, there’s a difference between workforce ready and career exploration.

Career changer is different from a student that doesn’t have a lot of experience, unfortunately often the programs have a one-size-fits-all approach. We teach programs to make it specific to their students.

What are your tips for adult education programs?

Partnerships—you need four types of partnerships: those that refer learners to you, those that keep your learners, those that strengthen your learners and those you should be referring your learners to

Empower and develop your educators—use the tools that are already out there, too many times programs are trying to recreate the wheel, find your star teachers and allow them to showcase what they’re doing in the classroom

Understand your learners and train and hire for that—if you have a certain type of population, be cognizant of them and shifts in populations, your data people and teachers should be meeting, data can tell teachers what they see and how they can adjust.

Learning something new is so hard the first time and then it becomes easy, we are all adult learners and we have to remind ourselves of that.

Daquanna Harrison is also the Vice President of the Maryland Association for Adult, Community and Continuing Education (MAACCE) Board of Directors. She can be reached at dharrison@elevationed.com

What is the best way for students to request transcripts and duplicate diplomas?

On the updated GED.com website we have a webpage dedicated to “Grads and Transcripts” with information related to transcript requests. Students that earned their credential in 2014 or later can log into their GED.com accounts and request their transcript.

Students that earned their GED credential before 2014 will need to select the country and state they resided in when they earned their credential and the site will connect them to the appropriate credentialing service.

Some states/jurisdictions only allow graduates to order a transcript; others may offer diplomas and certificates too.

What is the best way for students to request transcripts and duplicate diplomas?

On the updated GED.com website we have a webpage dedicated to “Grads and Transcripts” with information related to transcript requests. Students that earned their credential in 2014 or later can log into their GED.com accounts and request their transcript.

Students that earned their GED credential before 2014 will need to select the country and state they resided in when they earned their credential and the site will connect them to the appropriate credentialing service.

Some states/jurisdictions only allow graduates to order a transcript; others may offer diplomas and certificates too.

What is the best way for students to request transcripts and duplicate diplomas?

On the updated GED.com website we have a webpage dedicated to “Grads and Transcripts” with information related to transcript requests. Students that earned their credential in 2014 or later can log into their GED.com accounts and request their transcript.

Students that earned their GED credential before 2014 will need to select the country and state they resided in when they earned their credential and the site will connect them to the appropriate credentialing service.

Some states/jurisdictions only allow graduates to order a transcript; others may offer diplomas and certificates too.