The number of people attempting and passing the GED has plummeted. The Ohio economy is tough on low-wage workers with limited formal education. Without a high school diploma, it is virtually impossible to get a family-supporting job. But the GED has become a barricade, blocking Ohio workers from career goals, instead of a launching pad. Employers…

The number of people attempting and passing the GED has plummeted. The Ohio economy is tough on low-wage workers with limited formal education. Without a high school diploma, it is virtually impossible to get a family-supporting job. But the GED has become a barricade, blocking Ohio workers from career goals, instead of a launching pad. Employers…

We use data from the Texas Schools Microdata Panel (TSMP) to examine the extent to which dropouts use the GED as a route to post-secondary education. The paper develops a model pointing out the potential biases in estimating the effects of taking the "GED path" to postsecondary education. Lacking suitable instruments that would allow us…

This article investigates the extent to which state-mandated high school exit examinations are associated with state-level public high school completion rates in the United States. The authors estimate a series of state and year fixed effects models using a new measure of state-level public high school completion rates and archival information…

The economic benefits of the General Educational Development certificate (GED) were examined through a review of four published papers and four unpublished working papers on the GED's benefits. Key findings were as follows: (1) a GED provides economic benefits only to low-skilled dropouts; (2) economic benefits of a GED appear over time--often…

More than ever before teachers, principals, and superintendents are joining with parents and citizens of the community in examining and appraising what the schools are trying to do and how their work can be adequately supported. One of the topics that comes up for frequent discussion in the high school field is the Carnegie Unit. It has been our…