Committee Report | October 2011

Report of

REGENTS ACCES COMMITTEE

To

The Board of Regents

October 18, 2011

Your ACCES Committee held its scheduled meeting on October 17, 2011.  All members were present, with the exception of Regent Chapey and Regent Norwood, who were excused.  Additional members of the Board attending where:  Chancellor Tisch, Vice Chancellor Cofield, Regent Bendit, Regent Cashin, Regent Jackson and Regent Phillips.

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

The Committee was updated on recent developments on the GED® test.  This year, the American Council on Education (ACE), who is the current provider of the GED® test, and Pearson, a for-profit educational services firm, announced that they were forming a new company called GED® Testing Service (GEDTS) LLC, which will develop a new, more rigorous GED® test.  This new version of the GED® test would align with Common Core Standards and be computer based.  The new test is scheduled to replace the current test in January of 2014.  This development is a radical departure from the present testing system.  Currently, the New York State Education Department  (NYSED) is the sole administrator of the GED® test in New York State.  We monitor all test centers, review and approve annual contracts, approve the appointments of all examiners, provide annual training to test examiners, score the exams, and provide high school equivalency diplomas to those who pass the test.

Under the new system, GEDTS will be responsible for most of the administrative  duties; while the states or jurisdictions will continue to be responsible for the issuance of their own diplomas or certificates.  These changes raise several challenges and concerns including computer based testing,  the elimination of the test in French, test preparation, testing sites, testing surge, and cost.  To address these concerns, we need to provide actions both short term and long term.  For the short term, we need to ensure that we are prepared to continue to administer the current GED® test and handle an expected increase in testers before the new test is instituted in 2014.  For the long term, we need to ensure that there are alternative pathways for those who may see the GED® test as their best option for a high school equivalency diploma.  In order to ensure that the GED® test is accessible and available for New Yorkers beyond 2013, NYSED staff will work with GEDTS to address our issues and concerns, and make every effort to provide for as smooth a transition as possible.