What Do Youth Know about the GED® before They Join a GED® Program

City University of New York CUNY CUNY Academic Works 2013 What Do Youth Know about the GED® before They Join a GED® Program?. Edited byEve Tuck and Tasos Neofotistos The Youth to Y

City University of New York (CUNY)

CUNY Academic Works

2013

What Do Youth Know about the GED® before They Join a GED® Program?

Joni Schwartz

CUNY La Guardia Community College

John Powell

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Edited by

Eve Tuck and

Tasos Neofotistos

The Youth

to Youth Guide to

GED

The Youth to Youth Guide to the GED®

Edited by Eve Tuck and Tasos Neofotistos April, 2013

Contributing Authors

Jovon Smith, Travion K Joseph, Maria Bacha, John Powell, and Joni Schwartz

Contributing Researchers

The Collective of Researchers on Educational Disappointment and Desire (CREDD) —

Maria Bacha, Jovanne Allen, Alexis Morales,

Jamila Thompson, Sarah Quinter, Jodi-Ann Gayle, Crystal Orama, and Eve Tuck

Additional Content Provided By

Advocates for Children of New York

Campaign for Tomorrow’s Workforce

Guide Design

Christina Ree

Writing Workshop Transcription

Amie Worley, Katherine Espinosa- Nuñez

June Omura

Copy Editing

Katherine Espinosa-Nuñez

Interview Transcription

Beverly Tuck

Support

The writing workshop for this guide was hosted with support from The State University of New York at New Paltz Research for the guide was conducted with support from The Graduate Center, City University of New York Gisela Alvarez and Christie N Hill at Advocates for Children of New York provided important information about students’ legal rights to remain in school Sierra Stoneman-Bell at Campaign for Tomorrow’s Workforce provided information about the new privatized GED® Testing Service

Introduction to The Youth to Youth Guide to the GED®

Jovon Smith, Travion K Joseph , and Tasos Neofotistos 5

Creating The Youth to Youth Guide to the GED®

Eve Tuck 6

The Goals of The Youth to Youth Guide to the GED®

Tasos Neofotistos, Travion K Joseph,

Jovon Smith, Joni Schwartz, John Powell and Eve Tuck 7

Who is an Ally?

Maria Bacha 7

CREDD’s Gateways and Get-aways Project

Eve Tuck, Jovanne Allen, Maria Bacha, Alexis Morales, Sarah Quinter,

Jamila Thompson and Melody Tuck 8

The GED®

Eve Tuck 9

GED® Changes and High School Equivalency:

What’s Happening in New York?

Campaign for Tomorrow’s Workforce 11

Testimonio: My GED® Experience

Travion K Joseph 15

Graffiti Wall: What can you do with a GED®? 16

Re-Valuing/ Re-Thinking the GED®

CREDD 17

Employer and College Responses: Summary of Cold Calls

CREDD 17

When did You First Learn about the GED®

Interview Responses, New York City Youth 18

What do Youth Know about the GED® before they Join A GED® Program?

Joni Schwartz and John Powell 19

Swapping the New York Regents for the GED®

CREDD 21

What are the GED® Tests? 22

GED® Application Process and Eligibility Requirements 24

Testimonio: Leaving School for a GED®

Tasos Neofotistos 29

table of contents

Suggested citation

Tuck, E., & Neofotistos, T (Eds.) (2013) Youth to Youth Guide

to the GED® [electronic publication]

In 2011, the GED® was trademarked by the GED Testing Service® when it became a joint for-profit company of Pearson and the American Council on Education

Schools are Not Equally Funded

CREDD 30

Circumstances of Leaving School

Interview Responses, New York City Youth 31

Taking the More Narrow Road

John Powell 33

The GED® as a Key to Unlock Doors and Windows

Interview Responses, New York City Youth 34

Testimonio: Earning a GED® and Becoming a GED® Tutor

Jovon Smith 36

Beware of Being Pushed-Out of Your High School

Interview Responses, New York City Youth 37

You Have the Right to Stay in School

Advocates for Children .38

Youth Rights to Complex Personhood

CREDD 39

What to Do if You Feel Like You are Being Pushed-out

of Your Public High School

Advocates for Children .39

Frequently Asked Questions on School Pushout (New York City specific)

Advocates for Children 40

The Difficulty of the GED® Exam

Tasos Neofotistos, Jovon Smith, Travion K Joseph, Joni Schwartz,

John Powell, and Eve Tuck 42

Sometimes Hard Work is Not Enough in an Unequal Society

Maria Bacha 44

Advice from Youth GED® Earners to Youth Considering the GED®

Interview Responses, New York City Youth 44

Advice from A GED® Educator

Joni Schwartz 49

Policy Recommendations and YOU(th)

Maria Bacha 50

Know Your Options to Stay in School! (New York City specific)

Advocates for Children 51

Last Bits of Advice from Youth GED® Earners

Interview responses, New York City Youth 53

Conclusion

Tasos Neofotistos, Jovon Smith, Travion K Joseph, Joni Schwartz,

John Powell, and Eve Tuck 53

WhAT Do YouTh KNoW ABouT ThE GED®

BEforE ThEY joIN A GED® ProGrAM?

joni schwartz and john powell

As GED® educators, we know that young people don’t

always have accurate or complete information about the

GED®, or the process of getting a GED® when they come

to a program A young person can feel as though he

has no choices, and as though he does not have enough

information to make the best choices for himself

Many youth find out about the GED® or a GED® program

through word-of-mouth Most think that the GED® will be

easy to pass, or that it is an easy way out of completing high

school For a few people, it isn’t too hard; they are ready

to take the test and pass it Others take the test for the first

time, and don’t pass but learn through the experience of

taking it, and can pass it the second time

She told me this is another alternative since I wasn’t doing well

in high school If I wanted to get something I was going to need either

to have a high school diploma or a GED® So, I choose the GED®

I heard a lot of other kids talking about it when I was younger They were not happy with school Junior high school, the teachers, not only the teachers, the gangs and stuff…

When I was younger and my brothers got the GED® because they didn’t finish high school It’s like a diploma

They figured since they couldn’t finish they’d finish somehow.

When I was about 17 Someone said you just take that and then you don’t have to worry about anything else

And I said all right

It is very important that you trust yourself

as a learner.

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Most youth won’t pass the test on their own because they know very little about the GED® process and what it will take to be successful This is especially true for youth who have been pushed out of their high schools They often have unrealistic expectations for themselves, and for the new program They may have hated their high schools, but when a GED® program doesn’t feel enough like school, they question whether the program is really preparing them for the test They question why the GED® program doesn’t look like traditional school, even though traditional school didn’t work for them!

If you are considering a GED®, it is important that you have a good understanding of what your schooling experience was like, and how you feel about seeking a GED® Even if you had all of the information that you needed, if you feel like you are pursuing a GED® because you could not cut it in high school, that self-perception

is going to get in the way of your success with the GED® You need to have

confidence in yourself, not just information

For this reason, it is very important that you trust yourself as a learner Sometimes young people go away from their experiences in schools feeling like an academic failure, and start the path to a GED® with questions of whether they can really do it Those who succeed in getting a GED® are those who feel that their life goals are still possible You have to have a vision for yourself in which you feel that you can still achieve your goals When you feel like your goals are possible, you are going to do the research and the work that it takes to succeed in the GED® process

One of the most important things you can do

is to be clear with yourself about why you are pursuing a GED®, and the value it will have

in your life, once you have earned it For many people, the value of the GED® in their life, and the experience they have

in pursuing it, is only as good as the program or support system they have For most young people, the freestanding GED®, or doing it alone without a support system is a myth Your support system doesn’t have to be a GED® program, but you will need someone in your corner to help you prepare,

to encourage you, to keep you accountable and honest, and

to celebrate with you when you reach your milestones and goals

Some of the things you will want to consider in selecting a program or designing your support system is the size or number of people involved, the bridges or opportunities for next steps, the role and opportunity to do life work, or get to know yourself better in the process, the opportunities to write and think, and whether the program offers a graduation All of these elements can make the experience of pursuing a GED® less isolating and more meaningful

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