Good Morning All,
I work in a correctional institution using computer based education software. I would like to know since the change to the GED test in 2014 what has been the determining factor to identify a learner’s readiness to proceed to the GED Pre-test.
For example: A learner must reach ___ grade level before they can pre-test.
A learner must complete ____ instructional hours before they can pre-test.
A learner must be exposed to the following subject matter before they can pre-test.
Comments
We let the students take the GED ready test when they feel ready. They need a 150 on it to take the actual test. If they do not do well on the ready test, that is okay. The ready test tells the students what they need to work on to be ready. Sometimes it is the eye opener they need that they still have a lot of work to do to be ready.
We typically offer GED Ready testing sessions every 6-8 weeks, at the end of our managed enrollment sessions. Students who are interested can register with their teachers, which allows us the opportunity talk to them about which sections they want to take. In the lower level classes, we generally don't advertise these sessions much and only offer the test to students who really want to take it. On the other end of the spectrum, students who come into our program with scores of about GL 10 and above are offered a fast-track class that includes Ready testing. Most of them are able to pass with a small amount of tutoring and practice.
I am posting this for a colleague that emailed me their response:
"It's hard to answer, because we don't do the pre-test. (GED Ready). They are doing a pilot in a couple of institutions, but we aren't included in that pilot. What I do, is I use their TABE. When they show improvement on their TABE after 40 hours of instructions or IF they TABE test on a level 5/6, then they are able to take the GED test if I feel they are ready and if they think they're ready. I've had some level 5 learners not think they're ready, and so they don't test. I leave it up to them. But if they are level 5/6, I usually encourage them to go ahead and take it. They usually do okay, especially with the new scoring change. I've had students in class only a week or so and pass because their screening scores were so high. Other students have taken longer. It just depends. "
I hope this helps!
Brooke
As people respond to this great topic I think it would be helpful if you state if you are using the 2002 or 2014 GED test in your Correctional program. Many states continue to have waivers to allow correctional programs to still use the 2002 paper test which helps a states overall passing rate but is confusing so clarifying what test you use would be helpful. Using the above example from Brooke it would seem that is inline with what most programs did with the 2002 test and not the 2014 test.
Thanks,
Jerry
Hello all, Thanks, Jerry, for asking for this clarification. I'm also wondering what level 5/6 means in the context of the program Brooke posted about. What would level 5/6 look like on TABE, for example?
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, Assessment CoP
If anyone else has something to add please feel free to share.
For all of you who have shared I would like to say thank you.
I would appreciate some input on how to determine if someone is ready to test when the correctional facility does not allow online GED Ready tests. I find the process to be much more difficult.
Marianne,
First, a disclaimer: I'm no expert in this. I'm a Literacy Coordinator, so my students are not yet ready for the GED test. In past jobs, I taught GED under the 2002 series, but I haven't taught under the 2014. I've just been trying to learn more about the nuts and bolts of the GED since the cutoff change to 145.
The GED Ready is the only published tool that claims to give any indication of readiness for testing as far as I know. Since GEDTS are the only ones with access to the actual scoring information, they're the only ones able to credibly design a diagnostic tool for who is and who is not ready to test. I was unaware of the access issue in correctional settings. If I were you, I would lobby for access to the GED Ready and/or push for the creation of a paper-based GED Ready for correctional settings.
In the meantime, you still have to figure out how to advise your students. Here are some things to remember about the new test that may allow you to successfully adapt practices and knowledge that worked with the 2002 GED to working with the 2014 GED.
1. The test is actually easier to pass now than ever. With the cutoff change to 145, 72% of the high schoolers in the GED 2014 norming study would have passed all 4 tests. In the past, this benchmark had been around 60%. Thus, if students meet any of the benchmarks you had used for the 2002 series, it is safe to encourage them to test in the 2014 series. You may even decide to encourage students to test sooner as you get a feel for things.
Unfortunately, I don't have the citation for the exact 72% number handy. It was discussed in the Tuesdays for Teachers webinar about the score changes staring at the 1:16:25 mark, but i had seen the 72% in a written source I believe.
2. The content is harder now, so the number of correct answers required to pass is much lower than in the past. The percentage of points required to pass each test was originally set at 40-45% depending on the test. To my knowledge, this is the only available information about how the scale scores that determine passing are actually generated. It's explained on page 91 of the 2014 GED Technical Manual. (The percentage of points required to pass each test is now lower than the original 40-45% with the change to 145, but exactly what the percentages are, we don't know. GEDTS hasn't updated the Technical Manual to reflect the change to 145 yet.)
This is important to keep in mind because all of the GED prep materials that I have looked at have "Practice Tests" but then are unable to offer any guidance as to what a score of say 65% on their book's practice test means. A student probably wouldn't feel great about their mastery of the material after receiving that score. They probably wouldn't be brimming with confidence to go test. Neither would their teacher probably be inclined to encourage them to test. But, if that practice test was of equal difficult with the GED Test itself, they'd easily be able to pass the GED.
In conclusion, good luck. It sounds like you're in a tough spot in terms of advising about this issue. I'd recommend starting a data-driven decision making process. For students that do test, start charting relevant information like TABE scores, book practice test scores, other measures of reading level, etc. and compare them to the GED scores students get. It could help you pretty quickly get a feeling for what works for your population and provide a valuable resource for others in the Adult Ed community who either lack access to the GED Ready Test or would like to be able have a better feel for how industry norms like the TABE could be incorporated into the process of assessing readiness to test.
Best of luck! If you're interested in more about how the test works, I'd be happy to discuss more.
What about a mobile correctional testing unit that allows for CBT GEDR testing within a Correctional Setting that does not require Online access during testing sessions--just before and after testing sessions.
We utilize a protocol where the learners qualify for the GED Ready after earning greater than a 560 on an A Level TABE. Then they take the GED Ready in all 4 subject areas. If they score a 150 or higher, they are eligible to move to the appropriate GED Module for which they have qualified. We support our formal testing program with plenty of formative and summative assessments in the classroom--formal and informal. we employ Technimedia, ITTS, and Microtype as well to support instruction. Finally, we utilize the prescriptives offered by PV subsequent to GED and GEDR testing to inform learning and instruction.