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by Leonard Williams

The GED Academy unveils an innovative, online GED practice test to reach the millions of American adults without a high school diploma…over 30 million. The GED Academy strives to utilize technology to help undereducated adults who need to learn how to learn.

The GED Academy has unveiled an innovative version of the GED practice test. “The problem is,” says Michael Ormsby, president of The GED Academy, specialists in GED preparation, “that many potential GED candidates never learned how to learn. They struggle with traditional classroom environments and test-taking materials.” GED practice tests are an example. Traditional pen-and-paper tests require hand-scoring, and GED candidates often aren’t skilled enough to evaluate their own performance. “It requires a lot of support,” says Ormsby, “and community programs aren’t well funded.”

Throughout the country, individuals, communities, and businesses are recognizing the need for GED programs to develop undereducated adults into a viable workforce. “GED graduates are a vital component of a globally competitive workforce that strengthens existing business and supports economic growth and development in Virginia,” says the Virginia Department of Education. Virginia has created a goal of 20,000 new GED graduates per year, recognizing the problems raised by a staggering 30 million American adults without a high school diploma.

The level of support for adult education varies widely, from the high level of commitment found in Virginia to areas where community groups are struggling to find funding sources. “Educational programs need to take advantage of technology,” Ormsby insists, “to compensate for the funding gap.”

The new practice test, The GED Academy states, is a perfect example of how technology can help underfunded programs. The test is Flash-based and built for the web, so it can run on nearly any computer that can browse the Internet. Built according to the guidelines of the American Council on Education, the two complete half-length practice tests in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies have the same content as traditional pen-and-paper practice tests.

The difference is the need for support to take the test, score it, and understand the test results. The online test gives immediate feedback and computerized scoring, translating the number of right and wrong answers into information that the student can use. “The goal is to give students a tool to target their studying toward areas they need to improve,” says Ormsby.

The test even includes the essay portion of the GED test, and essays are scored by GED Academy instructors. “It’s something individual students can’t do for themselves,” Ormsby points out, “and it’s very time consuming for community program instructors [to grade essays.]”

The easy-to-use technology is typical of The GED Academy’s passGED program, which includes a complete Flash-based study program, with a guarantee that learners will pass the GED.

For more information about The GED Academy, visit: http://www.essentialed.org