A recent study, “The Effect of Earning a GED on Recidivism Rates” (http://essentialed.org/research.htm) shows that inmates who earned their GED while incarcerated were up to 14% less likely to return to prison in the next three years. With the cost of incarcerating a prisoner well above $20,000 per year and the number of inmates rising, correctional facilities are focusing on finding efficient ways to reduce recidivism, and implementing GED programs is a promising possibility.

The needs of prison systems are well defined. Correctional facilities often have limited resources… few teachers, little technical support, and little budget for equipment. Their adult learners have difficulty in classroom environments, and each individual has his or her own areas of weakness, gaps in education that need to be filled. It’s challenging.

The problem of creating an effective GED program with limited resources to serve a widely varying population seems daunting, but it is achievable with innovative educational software. The GED Academy software prep program offers a guarantee that adult learners will pass the GED using the program.

The GED Academy’s approach is to combine entertainment with learning, using storytelling to engage people who lack study skills and who function poorly in a classroom. The program uses a simple, cross-platform technology developed for the web. That means it doesn’t need an expensive, top-of-the-line computer. It can run on any system.

The software is simple, flexible, and easy to use. The courses follow a virtual classroom, peopled with adult GED students, including Curtis, an ex-convict trying to turn his life around. The GED Academy wanted to give adult learners people they could relate to, and relate their learning to their real life. How is this going to help me get a job? How is this going to make my life better? Those are the questions students ask.

Software-based educational programs have many benefits. Students can learn independently and receive immediate feedback through electronic quizzes. The costs are minimal, and since The GED Academy provides teacher support both online and on the phone, no teacher is necessary. The main criticism of independent learning software is that learners need to remain motivated to use the software. To counter this criticism, The GED Academy relies heavily on humor and character interactions in the virtual classroom, as well as providing Internet-based forums for group discussion, writing critiques, and support.

Motivation is key. To create motivation in the learner, you need to appeal to what the learner cares about… real life issues, making success possible.

Research indicates that inmates who earn a GED in prison are less likely to be re-incarcerated for crimes in the future. As correctional facilities search for solutions to implement low-cost, effective GED programs, technology provides new options.

A recent study, “The Effect of Earning a GED on Recidivism Rates,” shows that inmates who earned their GED while incarcerated were up to 14% less likely to return to prison in the next three years. With the cost of incarcerating a prisoner well above $20,000 per year and the number of inmates rising, correctional facilities are focusing on finding efficient ways to reduce recidivism, and implementing GED programs is a promising possibility.

“The needs of prison systems are well-defined,” says Michael Ormsby, president of The GED Academy, GED preparation specialists. “Correctional facilities often have limited resources… few teachers, little technical support, and little budget for equipment. Their adult learners have difficulty in classroom environments, and each individual has his or her own areas of weakness, gaps in education that need to be filled. It’s challenging.”

The problem of creating an effective GED program with limited resources to serve a widely varying population seems daunting, but Ormsby maintains that it is achievable with innovative educational software. The GED Academy software package offers a guarantee that adult learners will pass the GED using the program.

“Our approach is to combine entertainment with learning,” says Ormsby, “using storytelling to engage people who lack study skills and who function poorly in a classroom. We use a simple, cross-platform technology developed for the web. That means it doesn’t need an expensive, top-of-the-line computer. It can run on almost any system.”

The software is simple, flexible, and easy to use. The courses follow a virtual classroom, peopled with adult GED students, including Curtis, an ex-convict trying to turn his life around. “We wanted to give adult learners people they could relate to, and relate their learning to their real life. How is this going to help me get a job? How is this going to make my life better? Those are the questions students ask.”

Software-based educational programs have many benefits. Students can learn independently and receive immediate feedback through electronic quizzes. The costs are minimal, and since The GED Academy provides teacher support both online and on the phone, no teacher is necessary.

The main criticism of independent learning software is that learners need to remain motivated to use the software. To counter this criticism, The GED Academy relies heavily on humor and character interactions in the virtual classroom, as well as providing Internet-based forums for group discussion, writing critiques, and support.

“Motivation is key,” Ormsby states. “To create motivation in the learner, you need to appeal to what the learner cares about. Real life issues, making success possible. And success is possible.” The software’s guarantee backs up Ormsby’s claim. The company is betting on inmates’ success.

For more information about The GED Academy software for correctional facilities, visit: http://essentialed.org/corrections.htm

A study released by John Nuttal and the Correctional Education Association indicates that inmates who earn a GED are less likely to commit future crimes and be re-incarcerated.

Judge Mathis, star of the syndicated court show named after him, grew up in the housing projects in Detroit. He was involved in gangs. He spent time in jail. How did he pull himself out? After learning that his mother had cancer, Mathis decided it was time to change the course of his life. He was offered probation, if he entered a GED program. He didn’t stop at a GED. He went on to college and law school, and he became the youngest superior court judge ever to serve in Michigan.

Judge Mathis’s story is an exceptional one. Over one third of prison inmates, 37 percent in 2003, do not have a high school diploma or a GED. With a prison record and no diploma, few potential jobs are available for these prisoners on release. Intuitively, it seems that GED education is a positive step for both inmates and the overcrowded prison system, and a recent study supports that idea.

John Nuttall authored the study “The Effect of Earning a GED on Recidivism Rates,” which includes data on three groups of inmates in the New York State Department of Correctional Services. The study tracked inmates who earned a GED while incarcerated, inmates who already had a high school diploma or GED, and inmates who did not earn a GED while incarcerated. Inmates who earned their GED were significantly less likely to return to custody within three years. Offenders under the age of 21 who earned their GED were 14% less likely to return to prison within three years, while prisoners over 21 were 5% less likely to return to prison after earning a GED. A copy of Nuttall’s study is available here: http://essentialed.org/research.htm

“GED programs are not new in correctional facilities,” says Michael Ormsby, president of The GED Academy, a GED preparatory company. “But correctional facilities often have limited funding, and many inmates do not function well in traditional school environments.”

Ormsby is enthusiastic about the potential benefits of technology-based educational tools for correctional facility environments. “Multi-media educational software offers learners the ability to work at their own pace, appeals to multiple learning styles, and can be enjoyable and involving. Software-based GED preparation programs are also inexpensive to implement.”

The potential return on an investment of $50 to $200 per adult learner could be significant, considering the costs of re-incarcerating a prisoner. The U.S. Department of Justice reports an average cost of $24,440 a year per Federal prisoner, and in some state prison systems, the costs are even higher. Ormsby sums up the cost-versus-reward argument: “If you spend $2,000 on ten inmates’ GEDs, and then just one prisoner does not return to prison because of it, the prison system saves $20,000 for every year that prisoner would have been incarcerated.”

For more information about GED preparation programs in correctional facilities, visit: http://essentialed.org/corrections.htm