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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 12, 2013 02:06 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Harold A. English |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | GED Package: GED Completion Legislation |
| Along with Representative Joe Hackett, I am preparing to introduce legislation to help individuals finish their high school credential. According to census data, approximately twelve percent of Pennsylvania’s residents 25 and older do not have a high school diploma. In Pennsylvania, adults who do not possess a secondary school diploma and are not enrolled in a public or nonpublic school can obtain a Commonwealth secondary school diploma upon passing the General Educational Development (GED) test. The GED Testing Service, created by the American Council on Education (ACE), was first created as a public service for veterans returning from World War II in 1942 and, since its inception, it has operated as a non-profit organization, with the GED test being revised approximately every ten years. The current GED test was last revised in 2002 and was introduced as a paper-based test in Pennsylvania in January 2002. Test takers must complete all five sections of the exam. In March 2011 ACE announced its partnership with Pearson VUE, a for-profit company, as well as their joint intentions to significantly change the GED test, with the new system expected to be implemented beginning January 1, 2014. The new exam will change from five to four sections, be offered to students via computer only, and increase in cost from approximately $75 to $120. The 2002 Series GED is set to expire on December 31, 2013, along with any incomplete scores, and Pennsylvania test takers will begin taking the new test on January 2, 2014. Individuals who have begun the 2002 Series GED test but have not completed the five modules must complete all five sections by December 31, 2013. Otherwise, they will be required to restart the new GED test in 2014 in order to obtain their Commonwealth secondary school diploma. At this time there are 36,000 adults who have not passed this assessment, along with 15,000 adults with incomplete scores on the 2002 Series GED that they will no longer be able to use to obtain their high school equivalency credential. The purpose of this legislation is to give individuals with incomplete scores additional time to obtain their high school equivalency credential using the scores that they have already successfully obtained. The legislation will require the Department of Education to establish a testing program by which these individuals may use their past scores to obtain their Commonwealth secondary school diploma. The bill will allow these test takers an additional eighteen months to obtain their credential with their scores from the 2002 Series GED test. I hope that you will join me by co-sponsoring this legislation. Thank you for your consideration. |
Introduced as HB1930