[NIFL-FOBASICS:1427] Re: GED and postsecondary

From: Silja Kallenbach (silja_kallenbach@worlded.org)
Date: Thu Aug 11 2005 - 10:30:47 EDT


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From: "Silja Kallenbach" <silja_kallenbach@worlded.org>
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Subject: [NIFL-FOBASICS:1427] Re: GED and postsecondary
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Hello,
I'm posting here relevant excerpts from the lit review section from the
evaluation report of the New England ABE-to-College Transition Project.
We have looked to research by Steve Reder for information on college
persistence rates for GED recipients.  It's a bit outdated from 1996
(even though the publication is from 2001), but to our knowledge, there
is no up-to-date national data on this subject. Basically, Reder's
research shows that only 28 percent of students with GEDs entering
postsecondary education had either attained a degree or were still
enrolled and pursuing a degree five years after entry, as compared to 54
percent of students entering with high school diplomas. And these
figures need to be viewed in light of the low percentage of GED grads
who enter college in the first place. Please read below for the full
reference.

I invite anyone interested in these issues to peruse our web site
www.collegetransition.org and to join the National College Transition
Network, which you can do from the web site. The evaluation of the New
England ABE-to-College Transition Project will be posted on that web
site this fall.
Silja Kallenbach

"Adult Literacy and Postsecondary Education Students: Overlapping
Populations and Learning Trajectories. Reder, Stephen in Annual Review
of Adult Learning and Literacy, Vol. 1. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA,
2001.

This study examined the experience of adult learners as they become
participants in the postsecondary education system. Rresearch on
postsecondary persistence and attainment finds being a GED graduate or
receiving a certificate of high school completion to be one of seven
risk factors for dropping out of postsecondary education without
attaining a degree. Other studies (Boesel et al., 1998) report that 50
percent to 63 percent of GED recipients get additional postsecondary
education or training (most of which occurs in two-year and
vocational-technical colleges and most of which is focused on acquiring
occupational skills). 

In this study, Reder analyzed data provided by the Beginning
Postsecondary Student (BPS) survey conducted by the National Center for
Education Statistics. The BPS survey reports on the type of high school
credentials beginning postsecondary students obtained: high school
diploma, GED, or other certificate of high school completion. Although
almost 20 percent of students entering certificate programs had a GED or
equivalent considerably smaller percentages of students beginning
postsecondary education in two- or four-year institutions had a GED or
equivalency certificate. Only 2 percent of students entering four-year
and 7 percent entering two-year institutions had a GED. Since 15 percent
to 20 percent of all high school credentials awarded were GEDs, this
indicates that relatively few GED recipients go on to postsecondary
academic education. This finding is consistent with research that
contrasts the relatively large numbers of adult education students who
report planning to pursue college degrees with the small numbers who
actually enter or complete postsecondary academic programs.

Looking at the BPS data on the persistence rates for beginning
postsecondary students who enter two-year colleges with a high school
diploma or a GED, Reder found 54 percent of students entering with high
school diplomas either attained a degree or were still enrolled and
pursuing a degree five years after entry, while only 28 percent of
students with GEDs entering postsecondary education had either attained
a degree or were still enrolled and pursuing a degree five years after
entry. The highest persistence rates occured among students entering
four-year institutions and the lowest rates for students entering
two-year institutions. 


*********************************************
Silja Kallenbach, Coordinator
New England Literacy Resource Center
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA 02201
tel. 617-482-9485
fax. 617-482-0617
email. silja_kallenbach@worlded.org

>>> jataylor@utk.edu 08/11 9:22 AM >>>
Hello all -
Does anyone know how many GED students go on to participate in some
amount of 
postsecondary? Do we also know how many complete a 2 year degree, and
how many 
complete a 4 year degree?

Thanks so much,

Jackie Taylor
jataylor@utk.edu 



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