A major overhaul of the nation’s GED exam could force New York to start charging test-takers for the first time, officials and advocates warn.
While the new, computer-based version of the exam that certifies high school-level academic skills won’t be unveiled until 2014, State Education Department officials are already sounding the alarm.
An Education Department memo to the state Board of Regents last week warned that the price of purchasing the new exams for 50,000 annual test-takers could total $6 million — more than double the state’s entire budget for GED preparation and testing.
“It does appear the cost of the test is increasing and . . . somebody’s going to have to pay for it — or people aren’t going to be able to take the test,” said Sierra Stoneman-Bell, co-director of the Neighborhood Family Services Coalition.