The General Education Development test, or GED, designed for high school dropouts who want to earn a high school diploma is getting a makeover. It is about to be brought in line with the national core curriculum, including more advanced reading, writing and algebra and will assess critical thinking skills. Any student attending high school and who is working to obtain a traditional diploma must prove proficiency in these exact same elements by passing a test prior to graduation.
GED instructors are fighting the changes. They say that making the test more difficult will make it too hard for some people to pass. One GED student who dropped out of school after the 9th grade because she found academics too difficult said she thought the math requirement was already too hard. "I don't understand anything about it."
If we expect an employer to accept a GED as equal to a traditional high school diploma, then they have to, in fact, be equal. And if you don't understand basic high school math, then you shouldn't possess a high school diploma in any form. A diploma is a merit award you earn for academic accomplishment, it is not a right. If you can't do the work, then you don't earn the award.
Life is not one of those Peewee sports leagues where every kid who plays gets a trophy so no one goes home with hurt feelings.
No comments:
Post a Comment