Since 1975, the percentage of young adults who have gotten their diploma through the GED program has risen from less than 3 percent to 12 percent. Since the Census Bureau includes GED holders as high school completers, these statistics mask a steady rise in the nation's dropout rate. But does the GED measure up as a high school equivalence exam? In a 10-page story in the Chicago Tribune Magazine, Bruce Murphy traces the history of the GED and investigates claims made on its behalf. He reports that studies have found that GED holders are far less likely to succeed in college than high school graduates and more likely to drop out of the military. Astonishingly, some studies have found that GED holders have more job turnover and lower pay than even high school dropouts without a GED. Nobel Prize winner James Heckman is leading a team of researchers who have been documenting the poor performance of GED holders and raising questions about our use of the certificate. His research shows a 25 percent increase in high school dropouts since 1975. Back then, only one in 7 dropouts (age 18 to 24) had gotten a GED; today, half of all dropouts are GED holders. Some argue that raising the cut score for the GED would reduce the dropout rate. Others propose a return to the original rule that requires that test takers be 20 or older. Still others say that what is really needed is for states to stop the fiction of treating the GED as comparable to a high school diploma. For more, see "Shortcut to failure?" by Bruce Murphy, Chicago Tribune Magazine, August 5, 2001. You can retrieve the article from the Chicago Tribune archive for $2.95 by surfing to http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/ and searching for "Shortcut to Failure"
