A Conversation about the GED 21st Century Initiative: Moving from GED® test to a career and college ready assessment system- Assessment Discussion List


A Conversation about the GED 21st Century Initiative ™: Moving from GED® test to a career and college ready assessment system
September 12-15, 2011

Description | Guest Participants | Preparation | Full Transcript

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Description

The panelists will discuss the GED 21st Century Initiative, with primary focus on the upcoming version of the new GED® assessment system (currently known as the GED test) set to be released in early 2014. Topics will focus on the components of the Initiative; overview and current activities for the new GED® assessment system; how content and format will differ from the current GED® test; expected outcomes of the revised test; and how instructors and programs can begin to prepare for these changes.

From the GED Testing Service® website:

The GED 21st Century Initiative will transform the GED® test into a comprehensive program that will prepare more adult learners for postsecondary education, training, and careers. The program’s structure includes three major components which are labeled Prepare, Perform and Progress. Within these components are:

  1. Nationally accessible preparation programs designed to prepare more adults more quickly to perform on the new GED® exam;
  2. A GED® assessment system based on 21st century skill requirements including alignment with emerging Common Core state standards and certifying not just high school equivalence but also college- and career-readiness;
  3. A transition network that supports and links adults with postsecondary education, training and career opportunities -- providing them a chance to earn a sustainable living wage.

The Initiative will contribute to the nation's vital goal to build a globally competitive workforce by ensuring more adults, who previously dropped out of high school, become college- and career-ready through this new GED® program.

Guest Participants

Martin D. Kehe, Vice President, Products, GED Testing Service® . Martin formerly served as Deputy Executive Director, GED® Programs for the GED Testing Service®, which until recently was a program of ACE. Since his arrival at ACE in 2008, Mr. Kehe has been responsible for the design, development, and implementation of the GED Test in the U.S., Canada, and internationally. Prior to his work with the GED® test, Mr. Kehe served for nearly a decade as the Chief of Assessment, Maryland State Department of Education. During his tenure in Maryland, he was responsible for the design and implementation of all of the State’s K-12 assessments. Mr. Kehe received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Arizona State University and an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Postsecondary and Adult Education.

CT Turner, Public Affairs Director, GED Testing Service® . CT formerly served as Associate Director of Marketing and Public Relations before becoming the Director of Public Affairs in the new GED Testing Service joint venture. His work has focused on developing systems and materials to continually enhance communications and outreach with the organization’s key stakeholders. He has worked extensively with media on adult education and GED testing topics, developed the popular monthly e-newsletter for GED testing professionals and adult educators, and continues to work with state legislators and policymakers on issues related to GED testing. Before joining GED Testing Service in 2008, he served as Senior Vice President and Partner of SimpsonScarborough – a national higher education marketing, branding and crisis communications firm. CT has consulted, and produced enrollment, fundraising, and P.R. results with a number of nonprofit organizations such as: University of Colorado System, Indiana University, American Nuclear Society, The California State University and the American Council on Education®.

Tracy Gardner, Senior Director of Assessment Services, GED Testing Service®. Under the direction of Dr. Gardner, the Assessment Services team leads the development, research, and psychometric efforts for products and services in the GED® Assessment System. This includes developing content frameworks, assessment targets, performance level descriptors, assessment blueprints, and processes for test construction, field-testing, psychometric analyses, standard setting, scoring, and reporting. She also directs the development of a comprehensive research agenda that will support the validity inferences of the full GED® assessment system. Prior to her work with GED Testing Service® Dr. Gardner was a Psychometrician and Manager of Psychometric Services at Pearson from 2000-2010. She served as the lead Psychometrician on large-scale assessment programs in Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, Virginia, and Washington, and supported numerous other projects in an advisory and/or supporting role. In this role, she also supervised a team of Psychometricians and consulted on psychometric issues in the areas of standard setting, test equating, test construction, item analysis, and research design. Dr. Gardner received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Research Methodology from the University of Pittsburgh and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Debi Faucette, Senior Director of Field Outreach, GED Testing Service®.
Debi Faucette joined GED Testing Service in January 2011 to serve as the Senior Director of Field Outreach, charged to bring strategic direction in the interactions and relationships with key stakeholders in the field that comprise the GED network. Her current role follows an extensive and robust career in adult education at the local, state, and national level. She began as a local adult education program director, then became a Division Director for the Louisiana Department of Education. In 15 years as the State Director of Adult Education and GED Testing, other duties within her Division included the administration of High School Redesign, Career and Technical Education (Perkins), Dropout Recovery and Prevention, and NCLB Programs such as Even Start Family Literacy, Migrant Education, Limited English Proficiency, and Education for Homeless Children and Youth. The opportunity to administer such a diverse group of programs to serve the underserved in our society prepared her to seek and offer solutions for adult learners at the national level.

Recommended Preparations for This Discussion

Please read about the GED 21st Century Initiative, and about the new assessment system on the GED Testing Service® website:

Background information about the new GED Testing Service structure




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