WEBVTT - How the GED Test Works 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:11.080 Welcome to Stuff You Should Know Fromhouse Stuff Works dot com. Hey, 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:13.880 I'm welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. 0:00:14.000 --> 0:00:15.800 Chuck Bryant, and that's this Stuff you Should Know the 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:23.000 podcast Good Day. Oh there's Jerry. She snuck up on its. 0:00:24.680 --> 0:00:28.200 Uh yeah, this one is a part of our I 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:35.680 guess law enforcement suite no. Uh, military suite No. A 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:40.800 little sort of addiction swite, yes, because people are addicted 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:45.040 to knowledge, buddy, and uh here in the United States, 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:48.919 and I believe in Canada, if you don't graduate high 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:52.199 school and then later on you say, you know what, 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:54.920 that was a mistake. I'm just gonna go back to 0:00:55.000 --> 0:00:57.959 high school. And they say you can't do that. You say, well, 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.279 what do I do? And then they say it's your 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.720 g e D, dummy, and you go, oh, oh, that's 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:08.000 great because that's my General equivalently diploma, right, And they say, no, 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:10.440 that's not what it stands for. No, you should have 0:01:10.440 --> 0:01:12.759 stayed in high school. Although I don't think they teach 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:15.040 this in high school now, of course they don't g D. 0:01:15.480 --> 0:01:17.520 A lot of people do think it stands for General 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:22.760 equivalenc Diploma, but it stands for General Education Development, which 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.400 is a company a brand name, Yeah, like Seeing Eye Dogs, 0:01:26.840 --> 0:01:32.480 brand name, Heroin, Yeah, brand name, Kleenex, brand name, m 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:41.959 M barbecue No very nice xerox is though, Yeah. Those 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:47.000 are called generic size trademarks, yeah, band aid. Yeah. Things 0:01:47.040 --> 0:01:50.640 that were a trademark name or still are. But it 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.560 becomes so widespread and so dominant in their market they 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:58.240 become the name for all of the other versions of themselves. 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:06.840 Petroleum Nope, vassoline though, but yes, which should be called 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:10.280 petroleum jelly. Yeah, No one says that, though weirdos say that. 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:12.600 They just say vasoline or lube. Do you have any 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:16.280 petroleum jelly for sale? People say, I don't know what 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:19.000 you mean. You say, well, I mean vasiline, and they say, well, 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:22.959 why didn't you just say that? And then uh, you 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.760 just get quiet, and then they say, yes, we have 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:27.840 some vasoline for sale, and then you buy the right 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:29.680 aiight bran because it's cheaper and it's the same thing, 0:02:29.919 --> 0:02:32.920 but it just does petroleum jelly. That's right, all right? 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:34.800 This is off to a banging start. That was a 0:02:34.800 --> 0:02:38.840 horrific story. Um about eight hundred and fifty thousand people 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:42.600 in the United States and took this has got a 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:44.679 lot of stats in it. By the way, was it 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:46.760 just eight fifty I'm surprised. I thought it was like 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:51.600 a million. No, I've got the stats right here, my friend, 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:59.959 under key findings. More than eight d adults adults world 0:03:00.080 --> 0:03:04.880 wide took at least one of the five content area tests. 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:07.440 So that's our first point is the g e D 0:03:07.520 --> 0:03:11.560 isn't a single test, but it is five subtests are 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:15.320 what they called them. Well, it wasn't two thirteen, that's right, 0:03:15.760 --> 0:03:17.960 it's switched in two thousand fourteen. This is a heck 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:19.600 of a time to be talking about g e D. 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.680 It really is, because there's been some big changes lately. Uh. 0:03:22.680 --> 0:03:26.200 And only on not only but seven forty three thousand 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:31.920 completed the entire test battery and the reason why was 0:03:32.000 --> 0:03:37.680 because that change. Usually it's fewer than that. Usually, the 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:40.840 the proportion of people who take the the g e 0:03:40.920 --> 0:03:43.520 D to the people who take and finished the g 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:46.480 e D the same year is much different. There's a 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:50.440 huge difference this year or two thirteen, it was close 0:03:50.760 --> 0:03:52.920 because everybody wanted to complete it because it was about 0:03:52.920 --> 0:03:55.440 to get a lot harder in two thousand yea, And 0:03:56.480 --> 0:04:01.160 of those who took the complete battery of tests passed it. Uh. 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.720 And the way they have it's pretty cool. The way 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:08.000 they established the passing score is they give it to 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:14.320 high school graduates and the top six of high school seniors. 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:17.720 They compare that against the test. They used that as 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.000 the norm. I did not know that. Yeah, that is 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.599 very clever. Yeah, I thought so. I mean that's a 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.520 high school equivalence intest. Yeah, that makes perfect sense now 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:28.440 and the whole a lot. I mean you kind of 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:31.320 said it like, well, people you know, drop out of 0:04:31.360 --> 0:04:34.480 high school and then years later they say, yeah, maybe 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.040 I should go back an average of nine years. By 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:39.719 the way, is it nine now? Yeah, nine years later. 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:44.440 And they they had statistics from I think starting from 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:48.560 geez many many years ago, and they remained pretty consistent 0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:53.279 as far as racial divide and men or women and 0:04:53.320 --> 0:04:56.559 then people who pass or people who fail. Reasons people 0:04:56.600 --> 0:04:59.679 take it, It's fairly consistent over the years. It's pretty interesting. 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:05.400 The reason people take it um ultimately is so they 0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:08.960 can get gainful employment. But it seems to flip flop 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:13.560 depending on the economy whether they're going to go on 0:05:13.880 --> 0:05:18.159 and go to college afterward, because you need your g 0:05:18.200 --> 0:05:21.840 e d. To get into college or because as the 0:05:21.880 --> 0:05:27.440 general education UM development. Uh. People say there's roughly four 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:30.599 million jobs out there that are just waiting for people 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:34.400 to prove that they can fill them, and one way 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:36.160 to prove that is to have a g e D. 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:41.440 It basically says I am qualified for most of your 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:45.200 unskilled labor at least, and so going and getting a 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:47.800 g e D is for a lot of people a 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:52.120 huge investment in their future. Um. So that's pretty much 0:05:52.160 --> 0:05:54.960 why the g e D. It provides quote proof of 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:58.880 readiness for higher education or the workplace. That's the whole point. 0:05:58.880 --> 0:06:02.479 It's it's it's proof that you're ready to move on. Uh. Yeah. 0:06:02.520 --> 0:06:05.760 And they actually have statistics too on why people take it. 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:12.039 Um said they took it for educational reasons. Uh, and 0:06:12.120 --> 0:06:13.680 it's not just one or the other. I think it 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:16.400 can be multiple reasons, because more than half and I 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:20.320 thought this was pretty neat said they tested for personal 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:23.600 reasons such as being a positive role model and for 0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:30.039 a sense of personal satisfaction, and then said for employment 0:06:30.040 --> 0:06:33.680 reasons to get a job basically, so I thought that 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:36.440 was those findings are interesting. I like the role model thing, 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:40.440 like even though only four points five percent of the 0:06:40.440 --> 0:06:43.200 people who take it are over fifty years of age. 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:45.800 I say hats off to that four point five percent 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:49.640 because they you know, that's probably personal satisfaction or role 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.520 model reasons right there. You're never too old to get educated. 0:06:53.800 --> 0:06:56.480 Don't give up. That sounds like an ending, but this 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.039 is just the beginning. Well, maybe we can cut and 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.000 paste it under the I'll say it again at the end. Okay, 0:07:02.400 --> 0:07:06.919 so um, people have pretty great reasons for this. It 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.560 also helps the economy. If you have a bunch of 0:07:10.920 --> 0:07:13.800 unfilled jobs out there in your economy, and you have 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:17.120 a bunch of unemployed people, and all that you need 0:07:17.120 --> 0:07:20.160 to get the two together is proof that this group 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.960 of people is qualified to fill this these unfilled jobs, 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.040 then you have a real need to get those people 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:31.520 qualified as easily as possible. And for many, many, many 0:07:31.560 --> 0:07:35.360 many years, the g e D was a state sponsored, 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:39.840 nonprofit way of making that happen. That's right. If you 0:07:39.880 --> 0:07:43.040 want stats to back that up, sir, Okay, the net 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:45.520 lifetime fiscal contribution of a high school graduate or g 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:50.320 e D holder is almost three thousand dollars. Wow. Uh, 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:52.600 and you're gonna have about a ten tho dollar difference 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:54.920 in annual salary if you get that g e D 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:59.320 or do not. And with one point two million UH 0:07:59.440 --> 0:08:04.440 college dropouts each year, UM, people should encourage people to 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:07.360 take the g E D. And I'm gonna go out 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.320 and say, and people are probably gonna be mad some people. 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:13.200 I think it should be subsidized. If you want your 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:14.440 g E D. I think you should be able to 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.320 take it for free. Well in a lot of states. 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:18.840 It is some states, but a lot of people have 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:20.880 a big problem with that. Shouldn't have dropped out of 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:24.640 high school to begin with. But um, that doesn't make 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.679 any sense because what we needed more educated people saying 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:30.160 get better jobs and not be a tax burden in 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:34.200 other ways, you know what I'm saying. Um, So, the 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:37.840 whole idea of the g D initially was it was 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:42.240 basically a compromise between the military and the a c E. 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:48.160 The American Council of Educators, I believe, and um, apparently 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:51.120 when World War two broke out, or when the US 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:54.520 entered the Second World War, UM, there was this idea 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:57.800 of just handing out wartime diplomas. If you came aboard, 0:08:58.200 --> 0:09:01.440 you got drafted, you you and did whatever you can, 0:09:01.480 --> 0:09:04.280 just have your high school diploma, and Uh, the a 0:09:04.440 --> 0:09:07.840 C said that's a really bad idea because you're gonna 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:11.040 have some people coming back afterwards who are unqualified, but 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:13.040 people will think they're they're qualified. It is bad for 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:15.280 the economy to do that. Let's come up with something else. 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:19.760 Military said, fine, do it, and the a C said fine, 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:22.240 we will, and they went off and they came up 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:25.719 with the what is the g E D. Yeah, for 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:28.200 five years it was just for military, right, like you 0:09:28.240 --> 0:09:31.960 had to be a military service member to to take 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:33.360 the g E D. And then after that they're like, 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:34.959 you know what, this is a pretty good idea, so 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:38.240 let's expand it to everybody. Yeah, it was a great idea, 0:09:38.880 --> 0:09:42.280 and they did expand it. And over the years since then, Uh, 0:09:42.320 --> 0:09:47.199 it has gone through now five iterations, UM. Previously to 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:51.880 the last one was in two thousand two, and uh 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:55.800 it's changed quite a bit over the years. UM, like 0:09:55.840 --> 0:10:00.200 all standardized standardized test. I guess. Uh. Previously you like 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:04.120 back in the nineteen forties and fifties, UM, it was 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:08.800 pretty much just reading and writing skills, social studies, science 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:12.600 and math. But like basic skills, they didn't try to 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:17.440 make it like a like a real world test. You know, 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:22.960 does that make sense? Uh, like real world applications. Like 0:10:23.080 --> 0:10:26.680 later on they started putting things like newspaper articles that 0:10:26.800 --> 0:10:29.079 you could read instead of just like read this text 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.600 about Johnny and his dog, right, And I yeah, I 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:36.319 think it was definitely also geared towards people high school 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:38.720 level maturity too. And then later on they were like, well, 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:41.440 we've got a lot more adults taking this than we realized, 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:44.240 so let's change it. It just took them like thirty 0:10:44.320 --> 0:10:47.160 years to make that change. Yeah. Um, it took on 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:49.840 a lot more of a conceptual evaluation over the years 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:55.240 as well, and uh, showing people examples from like, like 0:10:55.280 --> 0:10:57.520 I said, real world, their home life and their work life, 0:10:57.800 --> 0:11:01.679 so they can say, hey, that's me in these test examples. 0:11:01.720 --> 0:11:05.160 I get it. And it's not. It's it's more humanized 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:08.439 I think. Right. Plus, they instituted a big one, the 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:14.280 writing test, an essay section that was definitely new critical 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.400 thinking skills, and all of a sudden g D got 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:20.520 a little harder. But it wasn't over then, and we'll 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:27.920 talk about more after this, so check. They revamped the 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:31.280 g e D in for like the first time seriously 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:35.560 in thirty years, and um, it's a little more real world, 0:11:35.600 --> 0:11:39.320 a little more reflective, And they just missed this the 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.360 cusp of a real change, because in nineteen eighty two 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:46.000 the world became a little more aware of the fact 0:11:46.080 --> 0:11:50.559 that it was globalizing. And so six years after that, 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:54.680 the g e D said we need to make some 0:11:54.840 --> 0:11:58.280 changes as well, and they revamped again. Had they just 0:11:58.320 --> 0:12:01.960 waited until eight, they could have skipped the whole nineteen 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:05.200 seventy eight revamp, that's true. And eight is when they 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:09.360 added that essay uh component, which was makes a lot 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:11.560 of sense to me. Did they I thought they added 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:16.480 it in no, huh? And in seventy eight is when 0:12:16.480 --> 0:12:20.679 they separated the reading test and basically said we're not 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:22.320 going to do any more of this, just straight up 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:29.240 like fact recall stuff. Um. And at this point only 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:35.480 of the takers were taking the test for employment. Um, 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:39.200 we're taking it to basically go to college. Yeah, And 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:43.720 that's reflective of a larger thing where the premium or 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.680 the rebate you get for a college degree was much higher, 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.160 and that fluctuates over time. And I read this paper 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:53.880 where you can basically look at it like supplying demand, 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:59.720 where if employers are saying we need more skilled labor um. 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:01.880 So you need to go to college, but if you do, 0:13:02.040 --> 0:13:05.280 we're gonna pay you more. Then more people who took 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:07.880 the g e D would go on to to um 0:13:08.000 --> 0:13:12.520 college or whatever. But if not when the premium was lower, say, 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:14.640 like unions were in charge and they were like, are 0:13:14.679 --> 0:13:17.760 people that need college educations but you're still going to 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:19.719 pay them? Well, the people would take the g e 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:24.280 D just to get into industry. Yeah. Interesting, they're all 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:26.760 very closely aligned. Now people are like, do you even 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:29.280 need a college education? Which to me, I think is 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.679 a separate episode that we should do. I totally agree 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:35.440 to because the whole notion of uh, there's a lot 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:39.280 of people challenging, uh, the validity of college these days, 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:45.880 and especially the stupidity of taking out exorbitant amounts of 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.960 student student loans. They're going to cripple you and cripple 0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:52.280 the economy the United States. Well yeah, I mean, especially 0:13:52.320 --> 0:13:55.839 if you're not going to be able to make that back. Yeah. Um. 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:57.960 There's some people that say that the student loan problem 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:01.200 is like the biggest problem facing our economy. They're called 0:14:01.240 --> 0:14:04.599 Occupy Wall Street. No, they're called Mark Cuban. Like a 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.160 lot of smart people businessmen are saying this is just 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:09.760 getting out of hand. Yeah, I think we should definitely 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:13.480 do an episode on that. So before you can go 0:14:13.520 --> 0:14:15.360 to college, though, you need that g e D or 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:19.080 your high school diploma. Um, so let's say you do 0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:21.480 want to take the g e D. These days, you 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:24.400 can prep yourself. You don't have to just go in cold. 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.880 They are all kinds of materials you can get online. Um, 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.560 if you go through the official g e D site. 0:14:31.680 --> 0:14:34.680 Because there are now three things you can do. There 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:36.760 are three tests you can take. G e D isn't 0:14:36.800 --> 0:14:39.359 your only option. No. It used to have a monopoly 0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:43.640 in the United States. Yeah, but since uh, Pearson Education 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:48.160 a private company, basically I guess bought bought it out right. Yeah. 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:55.120 The a C, the American Council of Educators on Education. Okay, Um, 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:58.560 they were the ones that owned g e D and 0:14:58.600 --> 0:15:01.640 they were running in as an profit and they said, 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:03.640 we need to revamp this, so we're going to take 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:09.200 on a for profit education. Educational publisher Pearson and Pierson 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:12.400 came in and said, okay, thanks for bringing us on. Uh, 0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:15.600 do you know what a hostile takeovers? And a C 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:18.400 said not really, we're edging and then they were pushed 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.760 out of the door. Here's the banker's box exactly right. 0:15:21.840 --> 0:15:26.640 So Pearson took over and is running this as for profit. Yeah, 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:29.560 but there are other options now, um, I think Pearson 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:31.200 and the official g e D is the only one 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:35.080 available in all fifty states, but most states now you 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.520 can also take the T A S C, which is 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:42.000 run by also known as Task mcgrawl Hill or H 0:15:42.120 --> 0:15:45.960 little I, Big Set, High Set which is administered by 0:15:46.000 --> 0:15:49.320 E T S and UH and most states now you 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:51.440 can have your choice of all those. Um. Yeah, what 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:53.920 happened was in two thousand and fourteen, the g E D, 0:15:53.960 --> 0:16:00.360 which was a basically n g O run nonprofit testing resource, Yeah, 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:05.280 became privatized, and now there's competition among private businesses. That's right. 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:08.320 So where I started with all this kabbadigook was how 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:12.240 to prep um. Depending on which tests you take, you 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:14.880 will probably want to use their testing materials, although they 0:16:14.880 --> 0:16:18.360 say that, um, any kind of preparatory materials that you 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:21.120 can find are probably gonna be good for all three 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:24.480 of the tests because while they're not exactly like, they 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:29.080 all have the basic standard five components or four oh 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:31.400 and only four on some of them. Yeah, so apparently 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:35.520 the g D went from UM to language and language 0:16:35.640 --> 0:16:40.360 arts and reading modules to one. But basically they're covering 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:44.360 language arts, are reading, science, math, and social studies. Right 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:46.400 before it was language arts and writing and then language 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:48.320 arts and reading and now that's just one. Yeah, it's 0:16:48.360 --> 0:16:52.560 called reasoning through Language Arts and the g e D battery. Nice. 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:57.000 The whole kit and caboodle is gonna take you, uh 0:16:57.160 --> 0:17:00.040 close to eight hours. Um, it's all parched out in 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:02.520 the time. But if you do need more time, if 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.080 you have some sort of learning disability or something, or 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:06.720 if you want to be in a room by yourself, 0:17:07.119 --> 0:17:10.479 most of these testing centers will accommodate that visual learners 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:13.960 are easily distracted by other people in the room. Yeah, 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:16.880 I am, so that's why they stick. They make sense. 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:20.280 You you can have you can have your own room, dude, 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:22.159 I never thought about that. That makes total sense. Like 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.159 I do my best studying for the podcast when I 0:17:24.200 --> 0:17:26.400 go in one of our office rooms and just lock 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:30.680 the door. Huh. And also, because Jonathan Strickland is super loud, 0:17:31.400 --> 0:17:36.800 it is pretty loud. He loves telling stories really loudly. Okay, 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:40.560 So also a lot of if you're interested in taking 0:17:40.560 --> 0:17:44.320 the get a lot of information, uh you're gonna want 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:47.240 is it depends on the state, like where you can 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:49.959 take it, how much it's gonna cost. It all varies 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:52.560 by state, um, and the guidelines of your state are 0:17:52.560 --> 0:17:56.000 gonna dictate, uh sometimes which one you have to take. 0:17:56.320 --> 0:18:00.680 I think state of Washington signed a deal with Pearson 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:02.880 to make that the only one for the state. Yeah. 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:04.879 I think there's twelve states where you have a choice 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:09.159 of all three that all um, but the g E 0:18:09.240 --> 0:18:12.840 D is available in not all fifty states. I think 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.840 some of them dropped it. Interesting. I think Pierson really 0:18:15.880 --> 0:18:19.119 ticked off a lot of companies by basically saying, you 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:24.280 remember these fees that before it was the state was 0:18:24.320 --> 0:18:29.359 subsidizing it to an extent. Some states were saying, okay, 0:18:29.359 --> 0:18:35.679 so this is how much the test people charge, and 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:38.320 then we can add fees onto that. So that's that's 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.320 how it stands still today to run to run the 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:43.159 center where they take it is where those fees come, 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.160 right exactly. Some states said we're not adding any additional 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.600 feest and we're going to subsidize the actual cost of 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:51.960 the test. UM. So when the when the when g 0:18:52.080 --> 0:18:56.760 E D doubled basically their rates. Um they were passing 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.239 it along to the states and basically saying, you know, 0:18:59.480 --> 0:19:02.560 passive all to the test takers if you want. The 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:06.080 thing is is like these are disproportionately low income people 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:09.760 and doubling the rates even even if we're talking like 0:19:09.880 --> 0:19:12.680 fifty six dollars suddenly being like a hundred, a hundred 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:17.800 and twenty, that's a significant increasing cost cost prohibitive in 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:20.640 some cases. Right, that's just for the test too, that's 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:23.800 not that's not for prep materials and that kind of thing, 0:19:23.920 --> 0:19:27.000 which a lot of states also uh subsidized as well 0:19:27.040 --> 0:19:29.639 and gave up for free. Yeah, so I think Pierson 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:32.280 takes some people off with the with the sudden for 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:37.840 profit model. But Pearson, in its defense says, we really 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:40.640 kind of updated this thing for the twenty one century. Yeah, 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:43.439 they moved it to a computer based test, not an 0:19:43.480 --> 0:19:46.639 online test, but it has to be taken. The G E. 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:49.639 D Brand test Pierson tests has to be taken on 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:53.000 a computer now, whereas the other two you can still 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:55.600 take with pen and paper or on a computer. Right. 0:19:55.920 --> 0:19:57.760 But Pearson says, in the long run, this is gonna 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:01.000 save money because it's cheaper to things on a computer. 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:05.480 But that also came with some controversy because while it 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:09.360 seems to us like computers are ubiquitous and everybody knows 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:12.880 how to use one, maybe a really poor fifty year 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:15.800 old person has never touched a computer, so they have 0:20:15.880 --> 0:20:18.480 to learn how to use a computer before they can 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:20.920 even take the test. Right, So, Chuck, we're talking about 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:25.160 the controversy right because I put it kind of flippy earlier, 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.280 like the G E D was privatized and it is 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:32.480 essentially as simple as that, But that's that there there's 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:34.440 so much more to that that doesn't just exist in 0:20:34.480 --> 0:20:38.480 a vacuums still loaded concept these days to take education 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.760 and privatize it UM that that are at a for 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:45.760 profit model to education. UM, it has brought a lot 0:20:45.800 --> 0:20:50.359 of criticism again Pierson saying, uh, yeah, we kind of 0:20:50.400 --> 0:20:53.240 need these people to take this test on computers because 0:20:53.640 --> 0:20:55.480 that's where the jobs are, Like, you have to know 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:59.400 how to use a computer to work almost anywhere these days. 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:01.920 That's a good So it's a good thing to make 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:05.119 these people learn to use a computer first. So there's 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:08.679 you know, what's what's the problem in that? UM. A 0:21:08.720 --> 0:21:12.240 lot of people would respond and say that's great. Maybe 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:14.880 this is something we could have implemented a little more slowly. 0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:17.760 Maybe you could have given the States and then hence 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:20.760 the state funded testing centers a little more of a 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:22.879 heads up that this is where it was going to go. 0:21:23.400 --> 0:21:26.240 Or provide the computer as an option, because not every 0:21:26.320 --> 0:21:30.800 job involves a computer. No, it's true for now, but uh, 0:21:31.119 --> 0:21:34.520 task and high set both offer computer and paper versions, 0:21:34.640 --> 0:21:40.160 right like you said. Um again, Pearson says, well, that's great. 0:21:40.280 --> 0:21:43.040 The States still has to pay for grading of the 0:21:43.040 --> 0:21:46.119 pen and paper versions. With the computerized version, we have 0:21:46.200 --> 0:21:48.480 it all built in. People don't have to wait around 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:50.919 for their scores. They get in immediately since it's on 0:21:51.000 --> 0:21:54.679 a computer and it can be graded by the computer. Apparently, 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:58.080 you can take a module, you can find out that 0:21:58.119 --> 0:22:01.320 you you didn't pass the module immediately and take it 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:04.000 two more times before having to enter like a thirty 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:06.080 or sixty day waiting period. You can just sit there 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:08.160 and take it two more times, right there. Yeah, that's 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:10.680 pretty handy. So, I mean, there is. It's not entirely 0:22:10.800 --> 0:22:14.280 like you know, Evil Co came in and took over 0:22:14.320 --> 0:22:18.120 the g D, but I think the the sweeping changes 0:22:18.200 --> 0:22:21.600 they made were so abrupt that it caught a lot 0:22:21.640 --> 0:22:23.879 of people off guarden and they're I mean, they're suffering 0:22:23.960 --> 0:22:26.240 as a result. Some people some states have just entirely 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:28.880 dropped the g e D. It's not even an option, wow, 0:22:29.000 --> 0:22:31.520 the official g e D. So you brought up a 0:22:31.520 --> 0:22:33.720 good point. Um, you don't have to take the entire 0:22:33.720 --> 0:22:36.960 test at once because some people can't afford a hundred 0:22:36.960 --> 0:22:39.840 and sixty bucks or more. You can break it out 0:22:39.840 --> 0:22:42.680 into modules and pay as you go. Uh. And like 0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:45.119 you said, if you don't pass one, you can retake 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:48.200 just that module. It's not all or nothing, which is great. 0:22:49.320 --> 0:22:51.440 You can take it in Spanish, you can take it 0:22:51.680 --> 0:22:54.960 in French, I think too. Yeah, you said at the 0:22:55.080 --> 0:22:58.359 very beginning that around the world eight hundred and fifty 0:22:58.560 --> 0:23:02.159 thousand people took it. Yeah, you can be elsewhere in 0:23:02.200 --> 0:23:07.639 the world to get your US high school diploma equivalent 0:23:07.760 --> 0:23:10.560 of the diploma your g E D. Uh. They have 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:13.919 brail versions. Um, they have large print and audio versions 0:23:14.520 --> 0:23:17.320 and don't show up and expect that though. That's the 0:23:17.400 --> 0:23:19.840 kind of thing that when you're registering you have to 0:23:20.359 --> 0:23:22.439 let them know and make sure that they can accommodate you. 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:27.439 And it's also interesting that people, some people say, you know, 0:23:28.760 --> 0:23:32.000