A high school education is a basic requirement to go to college, but what happens when you don’t graduate with a high school diploma.  For whatever reason - lacked the motivation, got into the wrong crowd, partied too much, had to support your family with 2 jobs, etc. -  the G.E.D. is known to help you get that stamp of approval. The question is …. what does it really mean in today’s world?

We’ll get to that but first, let’s start with some history and basic G.E.D. 101.

The G.E.D., General Educational Development, is a test designed to help adults move on to better paying jobs and/or post-secondary education who don’t have a high school diploma. Many colleges and employers consider the G.E.D. a credential equivalent to a high school diploma.

The test has five sections covering reading, writing, math, science, and social studies and test takers must score higher than 40 percent of graduating high school seniors. It is developed by the American Council on Education and can be taken at more than 3,200 official testing centers in the United States and Canada.

The truth about the G.E.D. is that in today’s information driven world, this credential is a gateway to post-secondary education and training rather than a stopping point. There’s research out there that shows that it’s not enough to become economically self-sufficient (i.e. make enough money to support yourself) with only a G.E.D. and that those who got post-secondary education or training, make significantly more money than those who did not. It was almost $9,000 more in wages per year.

Many states now combine G.E.D. preparation with education - through online courses and video-on-demand instruction. It has proved to help a lot of high school drop-outs bypass the lowest paying jobs for higher paying ones that require more skills training. it’s wise to check with your state on the types of work-force training that come along with the G.E.D. preparation.

The G.E.D is a great start but it’s only a stepping stone to more education, a higher paying job, and/or moving ahead in today’s society.