By Michael Ormsby
The GED® diploma is designed so that only 60% of high school seniors can pass this comprehensive exam, which measures adult literacy and numeracy as well as critical thinking skills. For the employer, this means that a GED diploma graduate has a higher skill level than 40% of high school graduates. Hiring GED diploma graduates takes the guesswork out of employee basic skill level.
Employers have many questions about the GED diploma. How does a GED diploma compare to a high school diploma? What literacy skills and other capabilities does the GED diploma graduate possess? How do these skills interface with the job market?
The answers are surprising. A prospective employee with a GED diploma has actually demonstrated skills higher than 40% of high school graduates, and they are the skills that employers value most: adult literacy and numeracy as well as problem solving and critical thinking.
The GED diploma was established in 1942 as an adult basic education option for returning veterans and has evolved into a sophisticated set of five exams that require the candidate to demonstrate a high level of understanding and skill in mathematics, science, social studies, reading, and writing. The GED tests have gleaned the most important skills from the high school curriculum, those that will add value to any workplace: adult literacy and numeracy, critical thinking, evaluation, making inferences, and problem solving.
Unfortunately, the standards for high school diplomas are not as clear cut. A job applicant with a high school diploma may or may not have mastered basic adult literacy skills and other competencies because the academic standards for high schools vary dramatically. The issue is further confused by the proliferation of fake diploma mills so that it is difficult for the employer to know if the job applicant actually attended a real high school, a legitimate online distance learning high school, or a fake online storefront that sells worthless “high school diplomas.”
With the GED diploma, there is no question of the quality of the applicant’s skills. An employer knows exactly what level of proficiency the GED diploma graduate has achieved because the GED test is a standardized exam that measures a very specific set of skills and knowledge. There is no guesswork with the GED diploma. A GED diploma graduate has not only achieved a high degree of basic skills in essential areas such as adult literacy and numeracy and critical thinking, but he or she has also shown the perseverance and commitment to prepare for and complete a challenging eight-hour battery of exams.
Hiring a GED diploma graduate assures the employer that the employee is in the top 60% of high school graduates in the skill areas that matter most.
Michael Ormsby is the president of The GED Academy and oversees software and curriculum for adult learners and people with educational challenges. For more information, visit passGED.com. Michael can be contacted by telephone at 800-460-8150.
