the 21 century ged assessment system ovae...

The 21st Century GED® Assessment System

OVAE State Directors’ Institute

May 11, 2011

The 21st Century GED® Assessment

System

GED ® Testing Service Presenters

• Nicole M. Chestang, Executive Vice President,

• Martin D. Kehe, Vice President, Product

Management

• Debi Faucette, Senior Director, Field Outreach,

• Tracy Gardner Senior Director, Assessment

Services

2

Session Overview

• 1:45-3:00 Presentation• GED Testing Service®

• Computer-based Testing (CBT)

• Next-Gen GED® Assessment

• 3:00-3:15 Break

• 3:15-4:00 Group Activity

• 4:00-4:15 Report out

• 4:15-4:45 Open Discussion

The BIG Announcement!!

“American Council on Education and Pearson

to Overhaul GED” Inside Higher Ed, March

15, 2011

“GED Exam Will Be Computerized before New

Version is Unveiled in 2014” Youth Today,

March 16, 2011

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The GED Testing Service®

DOB: March 11, 2011

Focus: Adult learners

Mission: To achieve the vision of the GED

21st Century Initiative

Commitment: To ensure that more adults

become career and college ready

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www.GEDtestingservice.com

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About Us

• We believe that education transforms lives

• We share your sense of urgency about the

crisis in educational attainment

• We know that adult learners are integral to any

strategy designed to improve attainment

• We know that partners are critical to realizing

effective, large-scale change

7

About Us

• We’re…

– Not Pearson

– Not Pearson VUE

– Not ACE

• We’re…

– GED Testing Service®

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Scope of the GED Program

18,000,000adults earned a high school equivalency credential by GED examination since 1942

770,000adults attempted some portion of the GED Test (2009)

683,000adults completed the entire battery of tests (2009)

472,000adults earned a high school equivalency credential (2009)

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The GED® Reality

More than 39 million U.S. adults without a high

school credential

10.5 Million are age 18-34

1.3 million U.S. high school

dropouts annually

~ 770,000 GED®

Candidates

~ 472,000

credentials

10

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What’s Needed

• A new test that certifies not only high school

equivalence but also career and college readiness

• An integrated system in which testing plays an

important role but as a transitional step to college or

career opportunities

• Diagnostics and additional tools—to provide more

information to candidates and adult educators to drive

preparation

• Technology-based delivery platforms (CBT) to ease

access and capacity issues

The GED Testing Service’s Response

• Pivotal decision to cancel the 5th Edition GED® test

(Sept. 2009)

• Engaged with the Bridgespan Group in market

evaluation and strategic planning process

• Initiated a pilot of computer-based testing in 11 States

Outcome: GED® 21st Century Initiative, a holistic

framework focused on adult learners that facilitates

the transition to careers and college

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The GED 21st Century Initiative Goal

Nationally Accessible

Preparation Programs

Next-gen

GED

Exam

Post-test

Transition

Network

Facilitate development of

broadly accessible,

multi-platform,

accelerated approach to

learning

Test aligned with

CCSS & other

state and int’l

standards,

certifying CCR

Foster creation of

a comprehensive

network for

successful

transition to PSE

& career

opportunities

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The GED 21st Century Initiative’s Goal:

Facilitate pathways to achieve career & college

readiness and increase PSE attainment & career success

PerformPrepare Progress

To

• Content aligned to 1999 high school

curriculum

• Passing standard empirically set

based on norm-referenced

performance of graduating high school

seniors

• Non-standardized paper-based test

delivery channel

• Anecdotal proficiency gains

• A disjointed, fragmented system that

challenges both adult learners and

educators

• Rigorous content aligned to Common

Core State Standards (CCSS), & other

state and international standards

• Proficiency levels based on criterion-

referenced performance standards for

both high school and college/career

readiness

• Standardized computer-based test

delivery channel

• Accelerated proficiency gains

• Comprehensive, easily accessible

system of supports that empower both

adult learners and educators

From

Evolution of the GED® Program

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The GED 21st Century Initiative Timeline

2011

• 2002 Series

• CBT

• Assessment development

• Accelerated learning pilots

• GED Marketplace Portal

2012

• 2002 Series

• CBT

• Assessment development


• 2014 Test content and instructional requirements


2013

• 2002 Series ends

• CBT

• 2014 GED assessment system launch



• GED Transition Network launch

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2011-2013: Sunset for the 2002 Series

Thanks for the memories…

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2014: The Dawn of the Next Generation

GED® Assessment System

It’s a brand new day for adult learners

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Computer-Based Testing (CBT)

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Testing Locations:Where GED testing takes place today

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Community College26%

Adult Ed Center20%

Correctional Facility17%

Career/Technical Center7%

Community -based site2%

Four-Yr Postsecondary Institution4%

K-12 Building12%

Library1%

Military<1%

Spec. Needs<1%

State Agency 4%

Workforce Dev. 1%

Workplace1%

Other5%

Source: Test Center Profile, 2010

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Chief Examiner Role:How much work time is devoted to GED testing

responsibilities?

Work-Time Ranges

0 – 25%

26 – 50%

51 – 75%

76 – 100%

% of CEs in Work-Time Range

59.9%

17.4%

7.5%

15.1%


Testing Availability

• Test centers most often test no more than 30

days per year

• Testing on weekdays during the daytime

• 82% of test centers reported no waiting lists but,

– Significant waiting lists in some jurisdictions

– ANY wait is significant for prepared test-

takers

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Insights from the Market Research

• GED® testing is offered largely on a part-time

basis

• 75% of centers reported that they could test at

least 100 more candidates per year = another

1.3 million candidates

• Weekday, day-time hours = significant

challenges for working adults to schedule

convenient appointments

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GED Testing: Operational Challenges

• Labor- and resource-intensive

– People

– Time

– Money

• Test security

• Availability (location, testing center hours, &

scheduling)

• Wait time for credentials to be issued

• Key processes are not yet automated

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What CBT Is…and Is Not

• What CBT is…

– Standardized mode of test delivery that includes technology-based tools for data management, reporting and enhanced security procedures

• What CBT is not…

– ―Online‖ testing

– An automated system that completely replaces human interaction or judgment

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Benefits for Test-Takers

• Rapid turnaround of results

• More choices--when and where to test

• Ease of registration

• More consistent test-taker experience

• Opportunity to demonstrate computer skills

All part of GED Testing Service’s commitment to serving

more test-takers, and providing an accessible, valid and

reliable testing process.

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Why Now?

• Test-takers need increased access

– Only testing 2% of eligible population

– No marked increase in testing over past 8 years

• National & local governments requiring more efficient

processes

• Well-traveled road with many successful examples

• Prepares the way for the new GED assessment

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Road to CBT

• May – October, 2010

– 11-state pilot

– Usability and Comparability Studies

– Finding: CBT is usable and comparable

• November 2010 to June 2011

– Operational CBT planning

• July/August 2011

– Operational CBT launched

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The CBT Planning & Implementation

Timeline

2011

• Data gathering

• Planning process for first four jurisdictions

• Initiate orientation program for next wave of jurisdictions

• Live CBT for lead jurisdictions

• Evaluation

2012

• Data gathering and exploration continues for next wave of jurisdictions

• CBT network expands in jurisdictions

• Orientation program continues

• Ongoing evaluation and operational adjustments

2013

• Data gathering and exploration for final wave of jurisdictions

• CBT becomes dominant mode of delivery for jurisdictions that implemented in mid-2011 & early to mid-2012

• Project orientation program winds down

• Evaluation program continues

• Live CBT operational in all jurisdictions by end of 2013

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Is the Field ready for CBT?

• Almost 60% of test centers already have computers—23

computers on average

• About the same percentage (60%) offer computer-based

testing (outside of GED tests)

• 9 states have computers available in at least 75% of

their current test centers: Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii,

Kansas, Maine, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota

and West Virginia

• California, Michigan, and Texas each had more than 50

centers with potentially available additional computers

• Yes, but we still have work to do…


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Understanding the Cost of GED Test

Delivery

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PBT Cost Structure

PBT costs paid by jurisdictions– GED testing materials (as determined by GED Testing Service)

– Staffing expenses: proctoring exams, registration, fee collection,

data management, reporting, transcript processing

– Facilities expenses

– Accommodations

– Test scoring

– Security: test and document handling and storage; staff training

and monitoring

– Transcript and credential issuance

Average cost to the jurisdictions: ~ $150

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Following the Money

GED® testing is supported in varying degrees by:

Just because it’s not in the GED® Program budget,

doesn’t mean that it’s not in someone’s budget

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State funds Local Funds K-12

Two/Four Year Colleges

Community-based

organizationsIn-kinds

Business & Industry

SponsorsFoundations Employers

The Truth About Test-Taker Fees

• More than 46,000 GED® test candidates in all

but five US states received grants or

scholarships to test, totaling more than $3.3

million in 2009

• More than two-thirds of test centers get less than

half of their funding from test fees

• Only one fourth of test centers rely solely on test

fees for their support

• States varied in test-taker fees charged across

test centers & in circumstances for fee waiversSource: Test Center Profile, 2010

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Current Fees to Test-Takers:Nationally, it’s a wide range

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CBT Cost Structure – All Inclusive

• Test battery leasing

• Phone and internet registration

• Fee collection

• Test scoring

• Instant unofficial score reports

• Reporting

• Data management

• Data transfers

• On demand testing

• Test security

• Proctoring

• Facilities

Test Center Compensation ~$40-$50 for 7.5 hour test

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CBT: Fees to Test-Takers

Jurisdictions still set test-taker fees…however, the

most needy test-takers won’t be forgotten

The GED Testing Service will be the lead sponsor

in a consortium of partners who will create a

foundation to support test-takers.

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Why Aren’t There Plans for a National

Rollout of CBT?

• Differing State policies

– Test-taker fees

– Eligibility

– Preparation requirements

• Differing funding models

• Access concerns

– Location…location…location…

– Community-college network

– Corrections

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www.GEDcbt.org

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THE NEXT-GEN GED® ASSESSMENT:

THE FUTURE OF CAREER AND COLLEGE

READINESS (CCR) FOR ADULT LEARNERS

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Guiding Principles of the GED® Assessment

Design

• The GED® assessment targets will– Focus heavily on what matters most for postsecondary success

– De-emphasize what is less important

– Focus students and teachers on a powerful skill set that they can deploy across the subject areas, as well as in careers and college

– Build on the strongest evidence in order to predict readiness in career, college, and life

• The four subject-level assessments will reinforce core masteries (e.g., use of evidence) that strongly predict career and college readiness

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The New GED® Assessment and Career and

College Readiness Standards

• Raise the rigor of the GED® assessment by

aligning with national & international career- and

college-readiness expectations—e.g. CCSS

• Provide a framework for informing test

development as well as provide clear guidelines

for adult educators responsible for preparing

test-takers

Assessment Development Timeline

2011

• Assessment development partners identified

• Content standards and assessment targets finalized

• Performance level descriptors drafted

• Item development begins

2012

• Item Development and Field Testing for Operational and Readiness Tests

2013

• Item Development and Field Testing for Diagnostic Test

• Release of GED Readiness Test v. 1.0

• Construction of 2014 Operational GED Test Forms

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Assessment Development

Communication

2011

• Computer-based testing tutorial available on the GED website (June)

• Assessment targets and draft Performance Level Descriptors shared with GED stakeholders (July)

• GED stakeholders involved in PLD refinement

2012

• GED stakeholders involved in PLD refinement

• GED Item Sampler released (July)

2013

• Release of GED Readiness Test v. 1.0 (September)

• GED stakeholders involved in preliminary setting of Performance Standards (fall 2013)

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Assessment Design Principles

CentralMatters

Non-Negotiables

StretchAreas

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The Four Subject-level Assessments

1. Literacy

• Focus: demonstration of the ability to read and

comprehend a range of complex texts, especially

complex nonfiction

• Writing tasks will require test takers to analyze given

source texts, using evidence

2. Math

• Focus on the material that is most important for a wide range of postsecondary outcomes

• Includes material from the career and college ready standards introduced in grades 6-8 and mastered in grades 9-12

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The Four Subject-level Assessments

3. Science & 4. Social Studies

• Focus: Literacy and quantitative reasoning skills in context of the content

• Includes assessment of selected core content in each subject area

Literacy Content

• 75% literary non-fiction; 25% will be literature.

• Text complexity ranging from high school thru college and career readiness levels.

• Focus on general academic vocabulary

• US Founding Documents and the ―great conversation‖ that followed will be required texts

• All writing tasks will require the test taker to analyze a given source text or texts, using evidence drawn solely from the text(s).

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Mathematics Content

• Quantitative Skills and Problem Solving

• Algebraic Problem Solving

• Elementary and Intermediate Algebraic Techniques

• Geometric Problem Solving

• Using Graphs of Functions

• Descriptive Statistics and Basic Inference

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Rethinking Performance Levels &

Credentials

NOW…The current exam

– Is pass-fail and

– Doesn’t provide information about skills that

examinees demonstrate at different levels

FUTURE… Each content-area test in the exam will

– Provide information to the test-taker and the test-

user (i.e., PSE and/or employers) about the

specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that the

candidate has demonstrated

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Next Generation Assessment

Performance Standards – An Illustration

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Passing Standard for High School Equivalency

2002 Series GED® TestsN

o C

red

en

tia

l

Sc

ore

Sc

ale

Cre

den

tial

Next generation GED® Exam

Performance Standard 3 …

tied to college-readiness

with corresponding PLD


tied to pre-GED®

performance level

with corresponding PLD.

Performance at this level

does not earn a credential

Sc

ore

Sc

ale

Passing Standard for High School Equivalency

No

Cre

de

ntia

lC

red

en

tial

Ad

ditio

na

l

En

do

rse

me

nt


tied to current level of

high school equivalency

with corresponding PLD

Rethinking Performance Levels &

Credentials

• What does the test-taker get?

– Information—which is central to improving

performance

• What does the educator or employer get?

– Information—A roadmap of current skills and

developmental needs, as measured against a

career and college-ready framework—which

is critical to planning for skills development

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DISCUSSION & WRAP-UP

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Contact Info

Nicole M. Chestang, Executive Vice President

[email protected]

Martin D. Kehe, Vice President, Product Management

[email protected]

Debi Faucette, Senior Director, Partner Outreach

[email protected]

Tracy Gardner, Senior Director, Assessment Services

[email protected]

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mailto:[email protected]



