In the months leading up to the new series of GED tests on January 1, 2001, the GED office of the Massachusetts Department of Education reexamined certain policies concerning GED testing in Massachusetts. This reexamination led to policy changes. The most important of these changes has come to be known as the "one-year rule." This article will clarify the rationale for the one-year rule and explore responses to this policy from the ABE field at large.

Previous to 2001, a GED test-taker had five years to complete and pass the GED tests. The GED office decided that such a long time span compromised the integrity of the testing process. Further, policies governing the retaking of GED tests were unwieldy, and in some cases, unenforceable.

The GED office wanted to improve the entire testing process. Before writing new policies, however, they took a few preliminary steps. They researched GED policies and practices in other states. They also developed the following criteria for establishing new testing policies:

1. The policy preserves the integrity of the test and the testing process.
2. The policy is fair to the testers (test-takers).
3. The tests can be implemented by the test centers and the Oklahoma Scoring Service, who scores all Massachusetts GED tests, without too much hardship.

One-Year Rule
Currently, a GED test-taker is allowed one year from the time of her first test to complete and pass the five-test battery. There is a two-retest maximum within a calendar year. Thus was born the Òone-year rule,Ó a policy that the GED office feels allows a dedicated and well-prepared test-taker ample time and opportunity to succeed. This rule was approved by the Commissioner of education.

Strong Response From the ABE Field
About one nanosecond after the one-year rule was publicized, many GED teachers and program directors responded strongly. They argued that a one-year limit is unfair to test-takers. In order to investigate and respond to criticisms, the GED office formed a committee (something we do very well) to examine the impact of the one-year rule and to determine whether it should be modified.

The committee, whose membership reflects teachers and directors in community-based organizations, corrections, and community colleges well as Department of Education staff (myself included) is chaired by Cynthia Therrien, GED chief examiner at Northern Essex Community College. The committee soon realized that most of the evidence used to support criticisms of the one-year rule is anecdotal.

To obtain a fuller picture of exactly who passes and fails GED tests in one year, I examined the testing records of each person whose scores were ÒsunsettedÓ (that is, made automatically invalid after one year) for the first six months of the new policy.

Results

• 74% of the testers passed the tests, compared to an average of 71% for the three years preceding the implementation of the one-year rule.
  Possible conclusion: The one-year rule is not causing a huge number of additional testers to fail.V
• Of the non-passers, 21% took fewer than five tests and another 40% took five tests only.
  Possible conclusion: A significant majority of the non-passers are not taking full advantage of even the one year allotted them.

For my next trick, I divided the non-passers into three extremely arbitrary categories:

• Sure Things: Those test-takers who should pass relatively easily;
• On the Cusps: Those test-takers who have a solid chance of passing with good instruction;
• Long Rows to Hoe: Those test-takers who have a lot of time and work ahead of them before they are ready to pass the tests.

One result:

• Of the Sure Things and On the Cusps, 51% did not pass because they failed math only.
  Possible conclusion: GED math instruction should be expanded and improved.

Broader Results
The committee's inquiry has expanded to include a broader examination of GED policies with the goal of maximizing the number of GED test-takers who pass the GED tests. The one-year rule is only one factor in this examination. The committee will continue to analyze data from the first full year of the implementation of the one-year rule.

The one-year rule will remain in effect through 2004. Any possible modifications will go into effect in January 2005.

Data Available
Anyone interested in expanded and updated statistics on one-year rule test-takers (non-passers), please e-mail me and I will make them available. Further, I am available to receive and respond to any comments, criticisms, diatribes, and advice.

Tom Mechem is the GED state chief examiner at the Massachusetts Department of Education where he oversees the operations of the 33 official GED testing centers in Massachusetts. A lifelong teacher, Tom spent his pre-DOE years teaching and coordinating GED preparation at various agencies in the Boston area. He can be reached at by e-mail at rmechem@doe.mass.edu or by phone at 781-338-6621.