Rush on for final takers of GED test

Terry Webster

Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 | 9:48 a.m.

Clark County School District officials are rushing to get students preparing for the General Educational Development (GED) exam through the test before it is phased out later this month.

A new national test is due to replace it in January, and those who have not completed the current exam's five portions by Sept. 30 will have to begin the process over, Julie Henson, GED chief examiner for the district, said.

Scores from the current exam cannot be intermingled with the new one, Henson said.

A national test covering writing, reading, social studies, science and mathematics, the GED provides those who have not graduated from a traditional high school the equivalency of a high school diploma. Some Clark County test-takers may be able to get an extension on the Sept. 30 deadline, including those who need to take the GED to obtain immediate employment or enlist in the military, Henson said.

In the meantime, the district is scrambling to complete testing for those who still need to take some portions of the exam. "It's creating a rush," Henson said. "We're trying to get everyone finished." In 2000, 5,318 Nevadans completed all parts of the GED and 4,010, or 75 percent, earned a degree. Clark County had 1,530 students take the exam and 1,233, or 81 percent, earned a credential. On Thursday the Clark County School Board will consider a measure that makes it easier for 16-year-olds to take the GED exam.

In the past dropouts who were 16 had to ask the Nevada Board of Education for permission to take the GED, Brad Reitz, executive director of school based programs, said.

The new regulation would allow them to instead petition the School Board.

To be eligible, 16-year-olds wishing to take the exam must be withdrawn from school and give the district written permission from a parent. The district does not require 17-year-olds to get parental permission to take the GED.

The proposed regulation is important, officials said, because GED enrollees are not counted as dropouts. In April the district posted a dropout rate of 6.1 percent, the lowest in five years.

In previous years, dropout rates were 7 percent or more. State and local officials attributed the decrease to dropout prevention programs and a new way of calculating the dropout rate.

According to the American Education Council, the new GED test is designed to reflect the present standards for a high school education. The current GED exam was released in 1988. New questions in the different areas of the 2002 GED will address:

* Writing skills -- Organization, sentence transitions, text divisions, letters, memos, reports and how-to reports.

* Social studies -- A greater emphasis on history, civics, government, graphics and photographs. This section also will include at least one "practical document," such as a voters' guide or tax form, and at least one excerpt from the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers or landmark Supreme Court decisions.

* Science -- Space science, physics, chemistry an increased focus on environmental and health topics and science's relevance to everyday life.

* Language arts -- Nonfiction, including business documents.

* Mathematics -- A greater emphasis on data analysis and statistics. Calculators will be allowed on one section.