The Top 10 Reasons to Get a GED

GED stands for General Education Diploma, and it tests a person's knowledge of things learned in four years of High School. According to GED Online, it was first created in 1942, so that those at war could be accredited with a high school diploma. Although not everyone finishes high school, it is important that one at least gets a GED. Having a GED can improve a person's chances of getting a job, along with many other benefits.

Employment

• Many employers want their future employees to have high school educations. Not having a GED can not only lead to being passed up for a job, but it can also mean being passed up for future promotions.

Education

• A GED allows you to get a college education. Even if you don't desire one now, you might change your mind in the future. A GED allows you to have the freedom to set higher goals later in life.

Self Esteem

• There is a sense of accomplishment that comes with getting your GED Online, according to GED Academy. Seeking to better educate yourself and fulfilling that goal can instill personal pride in your education.

Money

• According to the Kid Source Website, studies show that those who did not get their high school education will earn $200,000 less than those who did obtain a high school education.

Freedom

• Statistics show that half of the prison population is made up of high school dropouts, according to a 2009 study conducted at Northeastern University. By getting a GED and completing your high school education, you are increasing your chances of living a crime-free life.

Setting An Example

• Having a GED may set an example for your future children.

Less Worry

• During times of economic stress, working adults immediately feel the pressure and worry about losing their jobs. High school dropouts may feel it more than others, because they don't have the education that their competition does, which makes getting a GED important.

The Economy

• As mentioned before, a high school education means a chance of getting a college education. The more college graduates, the better the economy does, according to a study performed by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Small Time Commitment

• According to GED Online, it is recommended that people study for two hours per day for five days per week to perform well on the GED test. This is a relatively small time commitment, considering the lifetime of perks that come with passing the GED.

Independence

• Of all the people on welfare, half of the heads of households on welfare did not earn their high school education, according to the Kid Source Website. The GED improves your chances of never having to depend on others to support your family.

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Why Do Students Drop Out?

• While there is no single reason for why students drop out, research indicates that difficult transitions to high school, deficient basic skills, and a lack of engagement all serve as prominent barriers to graduation.

• Low attendance or a failing grade can identify future dropouts, and in some cases as early as sixth grade.5 Most dropouts are already on the path to failure in the middle grades and engage in behaviors that strongly correlate to dropping out in high school. Various researchers have identified low attendance or a failing grade as specific risk factors.

• Up to 40 percent of ninth-grade students in cities with the highest dropout rates repeat ninth grade; only 10 to 15 percent of those repeaters go on to graduate.6 Ninth grade serves as a bottleneck for many students who begin their first year only to find that their academic skills are insufficient for high school-level work.

• Over one third of all dropouts are lost in ninth grade.7Academic success in ninth-grade coursework is highly predictive of eventual graduation; this is even more so than demographic characteristics or prior academic achievement.8 Unfortunately, many students are not given the extra support they need to make a successful transition to high school and are lost in ninth grade.

• The six million secondary students who comprise the lowest 25 percent of achievement are twenty times more likely to drop out of high school than students in the top-performing quartile.9 Among high school students whose test scores were in the top quartile of their senior class, less than one percent dropped out. Among the high school students whose test scores were in the bottom quartile of their senior class, twenty percent dropped out.

• Research shows that a lack of student engagement is predictive of dropping out even after controlling for academic achievement and student background.10 Both academic and social engagement are integral components of successfully navigating the education pipeline.

Who Is Dropping Out?

Source: U.S Bureau of Labor statistics

Overall, far too many students are not graduating on time with a regular diploma; low-income and students of color fare the worst in the dropout epidemic.Each year, approximately 1.3 million students fail to graduate from high school; more than half are students of color. The graduation rate among students of color is as
much as twenty-five percentage points below their white peers. A student within the age range of sixteen to twenty-four years old who comes from the lowest quartile of family income is about seven times more likely
to have dropped out of high school than his/her counterpart who comes from the highest quartile.

High School Dropouts in America

Nationwide, about seven thousand students drop out every school day. This statistic may not have been noticed fifty years ago, but the era during which a high school dropout could earn a living wage has ended in the United States. By dropping out, these individuals significantly diminish their chances to secure a good job and a promising future. Moreover, each class of dropouts is responsible for substantial financial and social costs to their communities, states, and country in which they live.

Although graduation rates are a fundamental indicator of how schools are ultimately performing, only recently have those rates been rigorously scrutinized, revealing the extent of the crisis in America‘s high schools. For decades, schools and districts published misleading or inaccurate graduation rates, and as a result, the American public knew little of the scope and gravity of the problems faced by far too many of the nation‘s high schools. Reputable, independent research has exposed alarmingly low graduation rates that were previously hidden behind inaccurate calculations and inadequate data.