Enhancing GED Instruction to Prepare Students for College and Careers: Early Success...

This random assignment evaluation assessed a promising approach to GED [high school equivalency] instruction that aimed to better prepare students to pass the GED exam and continue on to college and training programs. The program’s curriculum had two broad goals: “first, to build the skills that are tested on the GED exam through the use of content specific to a field of interest (health care or business) and, second, to develop general academic habits and skills that prepare students to succeed in college or training programs” (p.2). The authors presented the encouraging results of the evaluation and discussed key factors that may be attributable to the program’s success. (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

 

Full publication title: Enhancing GED Instruction to Prepare Students for College and Careers: Early Success in LaGuardia Community College's Bridge to Health and Business Program

The authors identified three key outcomes of the program: • “Compared with students who went through the traditional GED Prep course, Bridge students were much more likely to complete the course” (p.5). • “Bridge students were far more likely to pass the GED exam” (p.6). • “Bridge students enrolled in college at much higher rates than students in the traditional GED Prep course” (p.6). The authors identified the following factors that may have played a role in the program’s success: • “Original materials and lesson plans in the Bridge course employed critical thinking skills and emphasized core concepts from the fields of business and health care” (p.6). • “Bridge students benefited from full-time, consistent, qualified program staff and additional in-class hours” (p.7). • “Postsecondary transition advisement was well incorporated into the student experience. Bridge students had regular meetings with a transitions adviser and were more aware of requirements to enter college and training programs than [students in the traditional GED course]” (p.8). • “Overall, Bridge students appeared more engaged in the classroom and more encouraged by the program experience” (p.8). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2013
• Author(s): Martin, Vanessa; Broadus, Joseph
• Organizational Author(s): MDRC
• Funding Source: Robin Hood Foundation, MetLife Foundation
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by:
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies