State Board of Education Mulls H.S. Diploma Changes

High school dropouts in Tennessee may be able to get their diploma without stepping a foot back into a classroom.

The State Board of Education is considering giving students who score a 525 on the GED a regular high school diploma. Currently, those who pass the GED are not counted as graduates. By counting GED test takers as regular graduates, the state’s rate would increase fairly quickly.

Six years ago, federal education officials barred states from giving GED students a regular high school diploma because they believed the test was too easy.

In December, the State Board of Education’s Executive Director Dr. Gary Nixon faced skeptical lawmakers who questioned why the federal government would recognize a GED now. Nixon explained:

“We’re really not asking the federal government to recognize it. This is a decision in Tennessee. Do we want to award a regular diploma to students who make a 525 on the GED exam? If we do, then those students would be counted as graduates.”

The driving force behind the policy change comes from meeting No Child Left Behind standards. Tennessee’s current graduation rate of 82 percent needs to be at 90 percent in just five years.

WEB EXTRA:

The Joint Oversight Committee on Education met December 15, 2008 at the state capitol. It was at that meeting that Dr. Gary Nixon discussed the proposal.

According to Nixon, GED test takers would have to meet a host of other conditions under the program the Board of Education’s proposal. According to Nixon, the six conditions are:

1. Student must be currently enrolled

2. Minimum age of 18 years, though it can be waived to 17 years by a school superintendent

3. Student must be enrolled for at least 3 years of school

4. Must be more than 1 year away from graduation

5. Permission from school superintindent

6. GED score of 525

Currently, GED test takers with a 525 and an ACT score of 21 are eligible for Tennessee’s HOPE scholarship.

Dr. Nixon says calls the proposal the “beginnings of a discussion” and is hesitant to go into further details. Nixon also says it may not even be on the Board of Education’s January 30th meeting agenda.

When questioned by state legislators over how many Tennessee students currently scored a 525 on the GED, Nixon did not know.

The GED is administered by Tennessee’s Labor and Workforce Development department as part of its Adult Education program.

The latest report showing Tennessee statistics was published in July 2008.