It is a tough road to pass the current version of the GED test. “Most youth who dropped out of high school will need months of time to prepare for it,” says Mark Leigh, Coordinator of the Kendall Youth Employment Program (KYEP).
KYEP helps dropouts aged 16 to 24 prepare for the GED with one-on-one tutoring, test-taking pointers, and online lessons. Leigh says that KYEP assesses the math and reading abilities of youth and then designs an individualized strategy to pass the difficult GED. The program is free and operates out of the Kendall Regional Office of Education in Yorkville.
The current GED version that is based on Common Core standards was designed to be much more difficult than the previous GED version that was used from 2002-2013. GED math is especially challenging and has quite a bit of math from algebra, geometry, and above. Leigh thinks that about 40% of current seniors would not be able to pass the GED test on their first attempt.
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The numbers of people passing the GED are way down. In 2015, only about 30% as many people will pass the GED in Illinois compared to the number that passed the GED in 2012. A number of educators have complained that the difficult new test is stopping many from getting a GED and thereby preventing them from moving up economically.
Illinois currently only offers a computer-based GED test through the Pearson VIE testing service. Two other high school equivalency tests will become available in Illinois in 2016; these other tests will be available in a paper version, but will also be based on Common Core standards.
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Besides GED preparation, KYEP also helps youth find jobs and prepare for careers. Dropouts, parenting youth, and youth on probation are eligible for the program if they live in Kendall, Kane, or DeKalb counties. For more information on eligibility and other details on KYEP, call 630-553-4166 or go to http://roe24.org/services/kendall-youth-employment-program.
There is a free quarter-length practice test at http://GED.com that gives an idea of the difficulty of the GED test. For information about free GED classes held at Waubonsee Community College, go to https://www.waubonsee.edu/learning/adult/abeged/.
