JIM WITMER DAYTON DAILY NEWS Vonetta Cummings, 19, pauses to pray as she begins the GED test at the Dayton Career Academy.

By Tom Beyerlein
Dayton Daily News
Published: May 7, 1998
Part 5 of 5

Some folks consider it a second-rate credential, derisively calling it a "Good Enough Diploma."

But educators say the General Educational Development high school equivalency diploma is gaining acceptance, and some employers even prefer GED grads to high school graduates.

"It seems to be society's seal of approval that you've completed the (educational) process," GED tester Jim Sumlin said. "Many employers have indicated over the years that they'd rather have GED grads, because they know they can read."

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According to the American Council on Education, which administers the GED program, 95 percent of employers accept the GED the same as a high school diploma for the purposes of hiring and promotion.

Nationally, nearly 12 million people have received GED diplomas since it was established in 1942, including such household names as Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, country-western star Waylon Jennings and comedy legend Bill Cosby.

About one in seven high school diplomas, or 500,000 a year, are GEDs.

The regional GED test center at the Dayton Career Academy downtown is the largest such center in Ohio - it had more than 1,000 graduates in 1997. For some, the GED is the final educational destination; for others, it's a portal to pass through on the way to college.

While the numbers of GED grads seem encouraging, "we're not even scratching the surface of the eligible populace," said John Maxwell, chief of the Dayton GED center. "It's a never-ending battle. Nobody's making a major impact on it."

The American Council on Education says there are 1.85 million Ohioans without a high school diploma or GED, while Ohio issued only 16,831 GEDs in 1997.

The GED measures writing skills and knowledge of social studies, math, science, literature and the arts. The test, which can take as long as seven and a half hours, can be taken in a single session or over two days or evenings.

Maxwell said Dayton's large GED enrollment is attributable to a good advertising campaign and a free practice-test program through the Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library system. People can take the four-hour practice test without an appointment from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Those who pass can take the actual test without paying the $42 fee, and almost 85 percent of those who pass the practice test also pass the GED.

Free classes to help people prepare for taking the GED are available throughout the area. For information, contact Project READ at 461-READ (7323).

JIM WITMER DAYTON DAILY NEWS Clyde Thomas of Ceward, Inc. measures William Gilbert of West Milton for his GED graduation cap and gown at the Career Academy.

The GED test usually is given at the Dayton Career Academy, 441 River Corridor Drive, although a few tests are scheduled at Kettering Adult School, 3700 Far Hills Ave.

About 200 of the 1,053 people who received a GED in the 1997-98 school year are expected to take part in a GED graduation ceremony at 7 p.m. May 18 at the Dayton Convention Center.

The GED is given each spring to a representative sample of high school seniors to establish the test's passing scores. The GED is sufficiently difficult that 30 percent of graduating high school seniors would not pass it if they took the GED.

"It doesn't give you any job readiness skills - it's an academic measure," Maxwell conceded. "But a high school diploma doesn't necessarily give you that, either."

Maxwell advises teens to stay in school. "There is no GED football team and there is no GED prom," he said.

Still, local officials said more young people in their teens and early 20s are taking the GED these days.

"They're so ambitious, so bright, they seem to have so much on the ball. Why would they want to quit school? It baffles me," said Karen Kuritar, who has proctored the test for 14 years.

Sometimes, the students explain why they dropped out in the essay portion of the GED. "They say they got in with the wrong people, some of the girls got pregnant, some people thought school was a waste and now they're sorry (they dropped out)," Kuritar said.

Sumlin said most people who take the GED dropped out of high school because of family problems or pregnancies, not because they couldn't handle the academic work.

Testers acknowledge that some GED graduates had serious behavior problems in school, but they say the tests are orderly.

"In 10 years of doing this, I can't remember one person who's come in here and caused problems," said tester John Nealon. "Discipline is not a problem." Gesturing toward the quiet test room, he said, "you could probably find 25 kids in there that were just hellions in school."

JIM WITMER DAYTON DAILY NEWS Steve Randall of Riverside (front) looks over the GED test in a packed testing room at the Dayton Career Academy. The regional test center downtown had more than 1,000 graduates in 1997.

"They've had a chance on the street and it's not all it's cracked up to be," Maxwell said.

Test officials say they're often impressed by the determination of some students - some take the test several times before they pass.

One woman almost gave birth while taking the test two or three years ago. Officials called an ambulance in the middle of the test to take her to the maternity ward; she finished the test later and passed.

Maxwell once gave a GED test to a waitress while she worked at her Englewood restaurant. She passed it and now has management aspirations.

Another of Maxwell's favorite GED stories involves the time he nervously ventured to the Shelby County Jail in early 1997 to give a GED test to a man facing charges of complicity to commit aggravated murder.

"And you know what? He actually passed it under those conditions," Maxwell said.

A couple of days after the test, Maxwell read in the Dayton Daily News that the charges against the inmate had been dropped. Maxwell later heard that the prisoner told jail officials, "You know, ever since I took that GED test, my life has turned around."

Students give a variety of reasons for wanting to get their GED - to get a better job, to go on to college, to be a good example for their children, to feel better about themselves.

"It's not just a piece of paper, it means a lot to me," said Rick Lewis, 37, of Vandalia, who has been preparing for the GED in recent months. "There's a lot of things I'm missing out on by not having that so-called piece of paper."

Lewis dropped out of Butler High School in 1979, his senior year, to join the Army. "It was a big mistake and I'll be the first to admit it. I think you're a big fool for quitting high school."

An office manager for a dentist, Lewis is now thinking about studying dentistry himself. "It motivates you," he said. "If you can get your GED, what other possibilities are out there?"