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