Conducted in an urban alternative education program for adolescents ages 17-21, this study provides an overview of a professional development program that sought to support teachers in developing unit plans that incorporated backwards design principles and culturally relevant and sustaining instruction. The authors offer a qualitative thematic…

Earning a General Educational Development (GED) credential can have positive results in a student's life including higher wages and better job opportunities. The 2014 version of the GED exam changed the format from a paper-based test to a computer-based test. This change coincided with a 35% decline in the pass rate indicating not all students are…

Nearly 39 million adults in the United States lack a valid high school credential and face a significant barrier to both higher education and employment opportunities. High school equivalency exams, primarily the General Educational Development (GED) exam, are the primary gateway to college for high school dropouts, but relatively few people are…

Until 2014, the General Educational Development (GED®) test dominated the high school equivalency (HSE) test market throughout the United States, to the point that educational experts acknowledged the acronym "GED" had become synonymous with "high school equivalency." However, changes to the test, the way it is administered,…

To date, the large body of literature on the provision of education in prison has received the most empirical attention and has produced mixed results; however, there is some evidence that indicates participation in vocational or academic programming is related to modest reductions in recidivism after release. For those receiving correctional…

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) prepares an annual report on graduates and dropouts in Texas public secondary schools. This report includes state summaries of the annual dropout rate, longitudinal graduation and dropout rates, and state attrition rates. In addition to statewide statistics, the report provides historical information about dropout…

The signifier "alternative" in education has largely shifted from progressive or humanizing pedagogies to deficit framings requiring alternate graduation criteria. This development is part of broader neoliberal educational reform efforts that disrupt longstanding conceptions of teachers' roles. This study serves to investigate long-term…

The Adult High School (AHS) program enables an adult student, to complete the required courses and state assessments to earn a standard high school diploma. Course requirements in adult high school programs are designed in accordance with core content standards. A program of instruction for both traditional and co-enrolled AHS students shall be…

At Larch Corrections Center, a men's prison in Southwest Washington, GED® Faculty Lauren Zavrel has created two original programs: an internship program for graduate students to gain experience in corrections education, and a tutor training curriculum for inmate teaching assistants (TAs) who tutor GED® and business students. Graduate interns…

Discussion on the advantages of integrating health literacy into adult education has primarily been theoretical and conceptual. There is a need for studies that assess the impact of adult education on health literacy. This study implemented a quasi-experimental design to explore whether basic adult instruction may constitute a venue for improving…

This 14-year prospective study investigated the effect of retention in Grades 1-5 on high school completion (diploma, GED, or drop out). Participants were 734 (52.7% males) ethnically diverse, academically at-risk students recruited from Texas schools into the study when they were in first grade (mean age = 6.57). Propensity score weighting…

The Adult High School (AHS) program enables an adult student, as defined in section (s.)1004.02(5), Florida Statutes (F.S.), to complete the required courses and state assessments to earn a standard high school diploma. Course requirements in adult high school programs are designed in accordance with core content standards per s. 1003.41, F.S. A…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the experiences of 12 adult online General Educational Development (GED) students to determine the role of program and personal factors that influenced their successful passing of the GED or their dropping-out of the program. Through surveys and interviews, we discovered that desire was the key factor for…

Understanding the elements of educational success for adult English language learners (ELLs) is an important priority for correctional educators, especially today with an increased population of non-English speaking students in correctional schools throughout the country. There is a dearth of information, however, about incarcerated adult ELLs and…

The GED® test was built from the ground up to give students a test that measures the skills they need to succeed. The test focuses on the foundational knowledge and skills needed for career- and college-readiness, so colleges and employers know that students who pass the GED® test have the skills to excel on the job or in the classroom. This…