The GED testing service has just published Crossing the Bridge: GED credentials and Post Secondary Educational Outcomes. This is a baseline report that follows GED graduates from 2003 (first cohort of the new test) and their enrollment, persistence, and graduation from post secondary institutions. It compares this group with the high school diploma and general population for the school's attended. This is the first year report of a 3 year project to provide a cohort of students with targeted instruction, GED passage, career exploration, and college readiness. The GED administered will be a prototype using the national State College Readiness standards.
The Joyce Foundation initiative is designed to help the workforce in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin develop skills and credentials essential for twenty-first century jobs. These states are re-engineering adult education, workforce development and postsecondary education policies to support economic growth and expand job opportunities for low-skilled workers in the Midwest.
Shifting Gears web site funded by the Joyce Foundation. Initiative funded to help 6 midwestern states address how to increase worker skills and certificate and degree completion in postsecondary ed.
This brief addresses the current and projected need for skilled workers and the skills immigrants will need to be able to take these positions. These skills are based in academic and higher level thinking skills. The authors provide the rationale and research underlying the need to incorporate these skills into ESL classes, regardless of the level or purpose of the courses (e.g., beginning, life skills). These skills will assist them in transitioning to postsecondary work training, academic settings, or navigating life in general. They address the following skills as being essential to incorporate into the classroom: reading and listening, note taking and organizing information, and critical thinking.
This is the first year report of a three year longitudinal study by the American Council on Education to understand the effects of obtaining the GED on postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion. This study supports transitioning adult learners without a high school diploma to the GED credential and into postsecondary with accelerated learning. This first year study used the information gathered at the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The NSC holds 93 percent of postsecondary student enrollment. The study focused on adults who acquired the GED credential in 2003. The pilot study founded credential recipients had a significantly higher enrollment rate into postsecondary than non-passers; females enrolled more than males; there is no significant ethnic difference between enrollees and non-enrollees.