Michigan State Representative Thomas Stallworth (7th District) attended the St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center (SVSFC) on Tuesday, July 2 at 9am to tour their Education Experience which provides free personalized educational programs for Detroit’s children and adults in a safe and supportive environment.
Stallworth, who also sits on the House Education and Detroit Caucus Committees and is the Chairman of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, is visiting the Center to see first-hand how the SVSFC program operates and bring attention to the significant federal changes taking place in GED testing beginning in January 2014, including tougher standards and a 500% price increase. In addition, anyone currently taking the multi-part GED test who has not completed all segments by the end of the year will have their partial scores wiped out and have to start from the beginning in 2014 on an online only basis.
It is estimated that over 1/3 of Detroit residents do not have a high school diploma or GED which is in many cases a requirement for even the most meager forms of employment. The SVSF helps thousands of Metro Detroiters obtain their GED’s and is feverishly working towards encouraging residents to complete their testing and urging others to start and complete the process before the tough new standards, higher payments and on-line only testing begins in January 2014.
Although there are sincere efforts being made to improve our educational system, the efforts are not as effective as they could be, because looming national changes to the GED (General Equivalency Diploma)
In 2014, the national test standards for the GED are going to increase in difficulty and the GED test itself will be taken completely online. Further, the test cost for Detroiters is going to increase to 500% of its current fee. The standard $30 per test is going to skyrocket to $150 per test.
Why is this change significant?
• According to the State of Michigan Department of Education, approximately 230,000 of the 700,000 residents in Detroit do not have a high school diploma or GED
• An additional 8,000-10,000 students drop out of Detroit schools annually
• Many industries such as retail, food service, trucking, manufacturing, etc. now require a minimum of a GED for employment. As a result, roughly 1/3 of Detroit’s population (which also has a 47% functional illiteracy rate) is not just unemployed, they are unemployable.
• There will be a charge to take the practice test online as well, which many residents simply cannot afford, but need the practice because they do not have home computers and are not comfortable taking a standardized test to begin with, much less online.
• There are multiple generations of Detroiters that have been failed by the system and therefore, have a generational resistance to education. They do not have the education they need to obtain employment and support their families, resulting in heavier reliance upon assistance, higher crime rates and lower economic base for the City. By assisting adults in completing their education and thus improving their family’s financial stability, the value of education is better understood and taught to the next generation. We believe this is how we will truly help the families in our community.
The Department of Education has not done a wide spread campaign to ensure the impact of these changes are being heard by the right audience – those that are able to get the test done this year. This could be those that have recently dropped out or have already taken several segments of the test. Where all they need is to finish up, but have no idea that whatever segments they may have already passed will be voided January 1, 2014.
Here are some things that GED hopefuls should keep in mind:
1. The clock is ticking. Residents that have not begun the process of testing by at least November will run out of time and then will have to start all over again with the new test.
2. The Education Experience program can help.
• Free, personalized tutoring, year round to help prepare students to take and pass the GED on their first try. The average rate of Detroiters passing all segments of the GED on their first try is 25%. Our student first-time pass rate is 90%, which means that students are then able to move on faster to work readiness programs, training and/or higher education, while incurring less testing fees.
• Transportation to and from the test
• Payment of test fees
• Assistance in getting scores as quickly as possible
• Assistance to those that qualify for placement into vocational training, interview and job search assistance and resources for tuition assistance for those eligible to move on to higher education.
• Limited, pre-arranged child care (Main campus only)
• Partnering with other non-profits, the Center has 4 Campuses in Detroit, located off major bus lines
• There are no “class” dates – you start when you are ready and finish when you take the test.
• 100 percent of graduating adults were provided with resources for either higher education tuition assistance or vocational training. Many of the graduates were given training on interviewing and job application skills, such as resume building.
• Students work at their own pace and receive personal learning plans that help them overcome obstacles in their thought process and problem solving
• Life-skills that help students obtain self-sufficiency (such as workplace behavior)
The GED consists of five different test segments. To assist with the most difficult aspects of the GED, The Education Experience focuses upon math and writing skills. Their approach has been very successful. Only 25% of adults pass the GED on their first try, but 90% of their students pass all five of the test segments on their first attempt.
The GED has nationally administered standards, and in 2014, the U.S. Department of Education is moving the test to an entirely online format. This will prove to be especially challenging to Detroiters that the Center services, because many in this disenfranchised community do not have home computers. The idea of taking a test on a computer is intimidating to this population – added to the intimidation of the difficult test itself.
To prepare for this, the Center is creating and will be using online lessons and other teaching tools to get their test-takers familiar with computers. In addition, they are actively educating Michigan lawmakers and officials about this change – which has not been widely publicized by the federal government – so that they can help the Center reach and educate the community.
St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center is helping both women in their adult program and African American families in their children’s program in achieving educational goals to help them have a better life and be contributing citizens to the community. In conclusion, the work being done by SVSFC volunteers and the students themselves is nothing short of transformative. Many of their GED students are going on to community college, university, vocational school or finding work immediately. They are changing their lives. By assisting adults in completing their education and thus improving their family’s financial stability, the value of education is better understood and taught to the next generation.