The transition out of adolescence signals a period of increasing personal and social responsibility. For many this means entering postsecondary or the labor market. Previous research has demonstrated that youth who do not finish high school in four years have less favorable postsecondary and labor outcomes. However, few studies compare the…

Ever since achieving a high school credential by passing the GED[R] test became widely institutionalized through adult education programs in the United States, outcomes for GED test credential recipients have continued to be of great interest to the adult education community and the general public. Very few studies of GED test credential…

The GED (General Educational Development) Tests are widely used to certify a high school level of academic knowledge and skills. The popularity and profound influence of the GED Tests have solicited numerous studies on the outcomes of obtaining a GED credential. Most studies on labor market outcomes for GED credential recipients have targeted…

The study of education-occupation mismatch, once central to the sociological investigation of the labor market, has been largely abandoned. While labor economists and scholars in other nations continue to investigate overqualification, it has been more than two decades since its last sociological assessment in the United States. Drawing on…

The General Educational Development (GED) credential is issued on the basis of an eight hour subject-based test. The test claims to establish equivalence between dropouts and traditional high school graduates, opening the door to college and positions in the labor market. In 2008 alone, almost 500,000 dropouts passed the test, amounting to 12% of…

This Research Brief highlights key findings from a study that examined the labor market attachment of male dropouts who obtained the GED credential in Florida between 1994 and 1998. I compared these credentialed dropouts to the men who attempted, but failed, the GED exam during the same period. Credentialed dropouts had a higher probability of…

For high school dropouts who last attempted the General Educational Development (GED) test in Florida and New York in 1989-1990, earnings of those without GEDs, least-skilled GED holders, and highest-skilled GED holders were compared. Higher GED scores were associated with higher earnings, except for white males. These earnings differences were as…

Examines the paradox of strong individual demand and strong institutional support for the General Educational Development (GED) credential despite educational and economic returns markedly lower than those of traditional high school graduates, suggesting that the GED program is a low-cost way to integrate thousands of off-track individuals back…

Human capital investment, in the form of education and training, is the key to improving labor market outcomes for high school leavers. GED certification provides an opportunity for education and training, but is no substitute for it. The GED credential is only a starting point. GED holders are not equivalent to high school graduates. (MLH)

While many previous studies have examined the economic impact of the General Educational Development (GED) on labor market outcomes, the results from these studies are all based on regression analyses that employ questionable comparison groups. As a result, all previous studies of the economic impact of the GED likely suffer from "selectivity…

Two facts have become clear since passage of the Workforce Investment Act in 1998. First, when low-skilled individuals increase their basic skills, these higher skills pay off in the labor market in the form of higher employment and earnings. Second, these earnings increases are typically modest and fall short of what people need to become…

Designed for use by General Educational Development (GED) program teachers in GED classrooms, this set of learning materials provide learners with practice in graph and chart reading, calculation, analyzing information, and writing, while they examine the labor market, role of higher education, and economic impact of the GED. Unit 1, The Labor…

Differences in education and labor market outcomes across groups completing high school at different ages and by different means (e.g., by graduation as compared with receiving a general education development diploma) may be due to a variety of factors, including all those that influence a person to leave school early. For an early school-leaver,…

Newly revised to include new data and information on the Internet, this guide for GED instructors offers lesson plans and helps teachers develop as professionals. It also gives adult learners an opportunity to practice writing, use graphs, read charts, and analyze research findings on the economic impact of the GED. The original version of this…