Lets start out with some history. The GED program was originally created post WWII when due to the lowered draft age many soldiers were returning with no highschool diploma. The idea was that these people deserved their highschool credentials but that sticking 25 year old war vets back into highschool with teenagers was a bad idea.
The test was made as simple as possible so that the soldiers would be able to breeze through it and move on to jobs/college, being mostly reading based and requiring no higher than an 8th grade education to pass, basically the only people who couldn't pass were the illiterate and the mentally handicapped. It was never intended for public use, and never intended to be a replacement for a diploma. It started out with one state allowing civilians to use it and then eventually spread to all the others. However, the difficulty was never increased so it still allowed people to get through highschool with 4 years less experience than anyone else.
The problems here lay not only in intelligence (8th grade intelligence for GED vs. 12th grade for diploma) but also in social skills and work ethic, which are required to make it through highschool. So where the GED means you have some level of intelligence, it says nothing of these other important aspects of life that are needed to succeed in the world. Now anyone can get a GED, even if they are just dropping out because they are lazy and think school is stupid. Only 40% of GED recipients ever go to college. Only 5% of that 40% have the work ethic to actually stick it out past the first year and only 3% actually manage to get a degree. GED recipients are on average 3x more likely to quit a job/college than those who stayed in school for the full 12 years, as well as scoring lower on tests and such due to the lower difficulty of getting the GED tricking them into thinking they are ready for the more advanced work.
However, even with the GED only requiring a 9th grade education(Only because they increased the score needed to pass. For the first 15 or so years of the GED's existence you only needed 2 more correct answers than the average number you would get from just choosing random answers to all the multiple choice questions) and basic reading skills only about 60% manage to pass the test.
Studies shows high school dropouts have higher rates of job turnover, college attrition, turnover in the military and even divorce, compared with those who stuck it out in high school.
“Sitting in school and showing up on time and doing in school what people ask you to do — those are useful, if dull, tedious traits to have,â€
To me it seems like the GED program should be abolished. From the studies and statistics it just seems to be helping lazy people be lazy.
They don't want to go to school so they drop out, get the GED, then continue to be lazy hopping from job to job because they CBA to pay attention or deal with people.
I don't believe in those "special cases" for dropping out such as getting pregnant, because they are normally results of the person's own bad choices and thus their own problem for which they must face the consequences.
I think the existence of the GED is a big sign telling teenagers "It's ok to be stupid and lazy! Just drop out and we'll cover for you!"
The only time I can ever see the GED being an acceptable option is if you were FORCED to drop out, against your will and because of something that was no fault of your own. Like getting an incurable disease or something.
Discuss your opinions.
And keep it civil, this isn't in Bean Rua.