Assessment Colleagues,

On Jul 22, 2007, at 6:56 PM, Will Fagan wrote:


> I recall reading about a discussion group on the GED - can't recall  

> if it is past or coming up? Can you help?

> Many thanks!



Today, Monday, July 23rd, on  the National Institute for Literacy  
Special Topics discussion list, we will begin discussing the General  
Educational Development (GED) diploma outcomes research of John  
Tyler. The process for the discussion is as follows:

Now: Prepare for the discussion by looking at and/or reading the  
preparation materials described below
Monday, July 23rd -Thursday, July 26th: Post your questions to the  
discussion list
Friday, July 27th: I will organize and send your questions to Joh Tyler
Monday, July 30th - Friday, August 3rd: Dr. Tyler will reply to your  
questions and reply to your follow-up questions and comments.

This process depends on your preparation and your questions, so I  
hope you will take the time now to watch the video, read the articles  
and fire off questions to specialtopics at nifl.gov

Guest Biography

Dr. Tyler is Associate Professor of Education, Economics, and Public  
Policy, and Education Department Chair at Brown University, in  
Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. Tyler will take our questions from the  
week's discussion, will respond to them the following Monday, July  
30, and will continue to respond to follow-up questions throughout  
the week of July 30th.

Discussion Preparation

To prepare for this discussion you can view a 30-minute video  
discussion with John Tyler; teacher, Sara Fass; and professional  
development coordinator, Sue Snider.  The video panel discussion  
focuses on the economic benefits that accrue to holders of the GED  
credential. It was based on a review by John Tyler of eight  
(published and working) research papers on the GED. Several of these  
papers were authored by John Tyler, Richard Murnane, and John  
Willett, researchers with the National Center for the Study of Adult  
Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) whose work has influenced what we know  
about the economic benefits of the GED.

The following readings, mentioned in the video panel discussion,  
would be useful preparation for this discussion:

NCSALL GED Research Briefs
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=27
Seven briefs by John Tyler are linked on this page, among which are:
"The Economic Benefits of the GED: A Research Synthesis", "So You  
Want a GED? Estimating the Impact of the GED on the Earnings of  
Dropouts Who Seek the Credential", "Who Benefits from Obtaining a  
GED? Evidence from High School and Beyond", and "Estimating the Labor  
Market Signaling Value of the GED"

Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices About the GED and Your Future
http://www.ncsall.net/fileadmins/resources/teach/beyond_ged.pdf

GED teachers, especially, will find the following publication of GED  
outcomes data -- for GED students -- of special interest. It was  
written by Sarah Fass and Barbara Garner, April 2000, and updated by  
Eileen Barry, 2006.
Beyond the GED: Making Conscious Choices About the GED and Your Future
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=1099

Helping Others to Subscribe

Please send this subscription information to your colleagues who may  
wish to join this discussion:

One can subscribe by going to

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/specialtopics

After completing the simple registration form (30 seconds) you will  
receive an email asking you to confirm that you wish to subscribe.   
Immediately reply to the email message to complete your subscription.  
After the discussion ends you can unsubscribe from the same Web  
address, or stay on for the next discussion.

David J. Rosen
Special Topics Discussion Moderator
djrosen at comcast.net