DOCUMENT RESUME ED 471 977 CE 084 388 AUTHOR Tyler, John H. The Economic Benefits of the GED: A Research Synthesis. TITLE NCSALL Research Brief. INSTITUTION National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, Boston, MA.. National Inst. on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and SPONS AGENCY Lifelong Learning (ED/OERI), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 2002-00-00 NOTE 4p. CONTRACT R309B60002 AVAILABLE FROM For full text: http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu/ research/brief_tylerl.pdf PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Academic Achievement; Adult Basic Education; Adult Literacy; Comparative Analysis; Correctional Education; Cost Effectiveness; Dropout Research; Dropouts; *Economic Impact; *Educational Attainment; Educational Benefits; Educational Policy; Educational Practices; Educational Research; *Employment Patterns; *High School Equivalency Programs; High School Graduates; Literacy Education; Literature Reviews; Nontraditional Education; Outcomes of Education; Postsecondary Education; *Salary Wage Differentials IDENTIFIERS *General Educational Development Tests; Impact Studies; *Return on Investment ABSTRACT The economic benefits of the General Educational Development certificate (GED) were examined through a review of four published papers and four unpublished working papers on the GED's benefits. Key findings were as follows: a GED provides economic benefits only to low-skilled dropouts; (1) (2) economic benefits of a GED.appea over time--often over 4 or 5 years- rather than immediately; (3) although the returns on postsecondary education and training are as large for GED holders as for traditional high school graduates, GED holders do not typically pursue postsecondary education or on- the-job training, thus missing out on economic benefits; and (4) a GED earned in prison appears to provide no economic payoff. The following were among the study's implications for policy, practice, and research: (1) GED preparation programs are a worthwhile investment; (2) better data on GED holders' postsecondary education and on the jobs held by dropouts with and without a GED is needed; (3) research on why GED holders' participation in postsecondary education differs from their intentions can inform policy responses; and (4) given that many males obtain a GED in prison, greater understanding of the "prison GED" is needed. (MN) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. of The Economic Benefits the GED: A Research Synthesis NCSALL Research Brief U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) rfrThis document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. ANAff/A712 2 a., As more states use test results as a determinant for high school graduation, many analysts predict higher dropout rates and the growth of the GED as an important educational credential. But does a GED provide economic benefits to a high school dropout? Since the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) published its comprehensive Key Findings 1998 synthesis of research on the General Educational Develop- A GED provides economic benefits only to low-skilled dropouts. ment (GED) certificate, eight new papers have influenced what we Economic benefits of a GED appear over time, not immediately. know about the economic benefits of this credential. A review of the new researchfour published papers and four unpublished The returns on postsecondary education and training are as large for working papers, all by researchers whose earlier work on the GED GED holders as for traditional high school graduates, but GED appeared in the 1998 synthesisoffers four key lessons. holders don't typically pursue postsecondary education or on-the-job training, missing out on economic benefits. Benefits Only for Some A GED earned in prison appears to provide no economic payoff. Earlier research has shown clearly that GED holders do not fare as well in the labor market as traditional high school graduates. But Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research synthesis of the most recent research indicates differences among GED preparation programs are a worthwhile investment. GED holders as well, with economic benefits going only to low- Better data on GED holders' postsecondary education and the skilled dropouts. jobs held by dropouts with and without a GED would be useful. This finding contrasts with earlier GED research that showed small Research on why GED holders' participation in postsecondary and statistically insignificant wage and earning differences between education differs from their intentions can inform policy responses. dropouts with and without the GED credential. However, newer Given that many males obtain a GED in prison, greater research models that do not assume economic benefits are understanding of the "prison GED" is needed. constant, regardless of the GED holder's skill level, indicate that dropouts with very low skills tend to benefit from the GED creden- Reasons for the delayed returns are unclear. Better data on tial. A GED provides no additional economic benefit, however, to postsecondary enrollment and attendance patterns as well as more dropouts with higher skills. information about jobs in which high school dropouts with and without the GED credential are employed would help provide The latest research signals to both policymakers and practitioners that the GED seems a worthwhile investment for the people GED an explanation. preparation programs tend to serve: those who leave school with Missed Opportunities relatively low skills. Returns on postsecondary education and training are as large for a Time Matters GED holder as for any high school graduate. However, GED holders Synthesis of the research also reveals that economic benefits typically obtain very little postsecondary education or on-the-job training, despite expressing a desire to do so. This indicates that associated with a GED appear over time rather than immediately. As many as four or five years may pass before statistically none of the economic benefit of the GED derives from gaining access to additional education and training. Furthermore, a significant economic differences appear between GED holders and dropouts lacking this credential. review of the research shows that the average GED holder spends NC S , National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy 3 SALL CII National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy a relatively large amount of time in off-the-job trainingdefined John H. Tyler is an assistant professor of education, econom- as government-sponsored and proprietary school trainingthat ics, and public policy at Brown University, where he has joint provides no measurable economic returns, at least for males. appointments in the Department of Education, Department of Economics, and Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Additional research establishing reasons for the mismatch between Institutions. He is also a faculty research fellow of the National GED holders' goals and actions would be informative. Do their Bureau of Economic Research. goals change? Do such factors as childcare, transportation, or work limit their postsecondary enrollment? And why do they choose For more on John Tyler's research or to learn about other NCSALL proprietary school training over other forms of education? efforts connecting research and practice to strengthen adult Different answers to these questions would suggest very differ- literacy education programs, visit http://ncsall.gse.harvard.edu. ent policy responses. Prison is a Factor Although many GED certificates are obtained in prison (25 per- cent of all those earned by black males and 5 percent of those earned by white, non-Hispanic, and Hispanic males), there appears to be no economic payoff for a "prison GED." Quarterly earnings of high school dropouts who passed the GED tests while in prison and those who failed were no different for up to five years after the exams were taken. It isn't possible to determine from the ex- isting research why low-skilled dropouts who obtain a GED in prison do not reap the economic benefits they would had they earned the same credential elsewhere. The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) is a partnership of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, World Education, the Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee, Portland State University, and Rutgers University. 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