TCSG rescinds GED test fee increase

System’s state board holds cost decision until  2012, cites delay in development of computer-based test

Atlanta – The state board that oversees the Technical College System of Georgia and its Office of Adult Education (OAE) has voted to rescind a planned increase in the GED test fees for Georgia’s adult learners. The TCSG will wait until at least early next year to reconsider the cost.

The board’s action follows recommendations from both the OAE, which is the statewide provider of the test, and the GED Testing Service® in Washington, D.C., which is responsible for the design and delivery of the test.

In April, the TCSG announced that the test fees would more than double from the current $95, which would coincide with the launch in July of a first-ever, computer-based GED test by the GED Testing Service.

However, the GED Testing Service recently asked Georgia to postpone the cost increase citing the need to resolve all operational and technical matters involved in the development and delivery of the computer-based testing (CBT) model.

In a letter to TCSG Commissioner Ron Jackson dated May 19, 2011, GED Testing Service Executive Vice President Nicole M. Chestang wrote, “We recommend that the planned CBT implementation date be delayed until we can provide the optimal operational solution and implementation approach for Georgia and ultimately the State’s GED test-takers.”

The current fee of $95 to take the full battery of GED tests that measure reading, writing, social studies, science and mathematics skills will remain in effect into early 2012, or however long it takes to begin the computer-based GED testing.

Both the GED Testing Service and the TCSG want ensure that the CBT is working flawlessly before anyone takes the new electronic version of the test.

“The computer-based GED testing is an excellent program with great promise, but it won’t be implemented in Georgia until we’re fully confident that every issue with the new model has been worked out,” said Beverly Smith, the TCSG assistant commissioner for adult education. “In the meantime, we’ll work to inform every adult learner that their test cost will not change in July as planned and encourage them to take full advantage of the test at the current fee level.”

It’s estimated that there are more than 1.3 million adult Georgians who are without a high school or GED diploma. Last year, almost 20,000 men and women in the state changed their lives for the better and improved their job opportunities by passing the test and obtaining their GED diploma.