Directs the state department of education to place a moratorium on the use of Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) until certain requirements are met and relates to the HED account

Summary of provisions

Section 1: Provides that the Commissioner of the State Education Department will place a moratorium on the use of the Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC) high school equivalency assessment until: (1) a curriculum is developed, (2) instructors trained in the TASC curriculum (estimated to be a 3-4 training course), (3) basic computer and scientific calculator skills are provided to applicants, (4) fee forgiveness is provided for applicants who paid for and took the General Educational Development (GED) course at a SUNY community college, and (5) a process is implemented that ensures that TASC results will be processed and made available to the applicant within sixty days of the test date.

Section 2: Amends section 97-hhh of the state finance law to authorize the state comptroller to receive for deposit to the credit of the high school equivalency account, fees established by the Commissioner of Education to supplement the administration of TASC tests.

Section 3: Provides that this act shall take immediately.

Justification

The GED test was first launched in 1942. It has been revised over the years, but 2014 will be the biggest change in two generations. Effective January 1, 2014 the GED was eliminated. The test for a "high school equivalency diploma" will now become more difficult, cover more disciplines, and will be aligned with Common Core.

Adult educators estimate that these changes to the high school equivalency test mean it will take longer to prepare their students for this crucial test. They also worry that their students, who are already beaten down and vulnerable, will give up.

There is no debate that academic standards must be at a level that will render New Yorkers competitive in a global society. There are 2.8 million people without a high school diploma in New York State and of those, 1.2 million are adults. The TASC presents numerous challenges for which educators in community colleges, BOCES, community-based programs, cooperative extension programs and students who were in the midst of taking courses for the GED, are completely unprepared.

Failure to lay a solid framework for the sweeping change from the GED to the TASC, is compounded by the transition from the GED's "pen and paper" test to the TASC's "computer based" (CBT) test. The new test, as a consequence, will additionally require computer literacy and

scientific calculator skills on top of the new knowledge needed to take it. Therefore, teachers preparing students to take the TASC will need technology resources to inculcate computer skills into individuals who may not have had any computer training in their early education.

Furthermore, those who have taken the GED preparatory course and have paid a fee in SUNY community colleges, estimated at $1,200 with the expectation of taking the GED, will now need to take an additional preparatory course for the new test. Since there will be no refund of the fee paid for the GED test prep course, this will create an onerous economic burden for the average student earning minimum wage. If one is unable to take the preparatory course again (when and if teachers are trained), the probability of failure and disillusionment will multiply enormously.

Traditionally, students who have been prepared by BOCES, school districts, community colleges and community based programs have had a 23% higher success ratio than students who have walked into the test without being prepared. The inability of large numbers of people to be able to afford a duplicate test preparation class, and the lack of individuals/teachers trained to lead test preparatory courses, makes it strongly likely the passage rate will drop precipitously. It is obvious therefore that the State has a compelling interest in funding the preparatory class for those students who have already paid for the abruptly eliminated GED, and for those students who will need a preparatory class to succeed. The investment in ensuring the success of the TASC will be returned to the State, as studies have shown that for every individual who attains a high school equivalency degree there is a benefit to their home municipality of $325,000 in increased tax contributions over the lifetime of the student.

Legislative history

None. It is a new bill.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.