The GED, the General Educational Development test, is produced by the American Council on Education. In 2011, it  partnered with Pearson and the GED was aligned  with the Common Core State Standards. Pearson is heavily involved with both the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) and with Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) which are the assessment consortia developing assessments for the Common Core State Standards.

Beginning in 2014, students taking the GED took the revised test aligned with the Common Core State Standards

According to the e-newsletter SCENE, about 540,000 students earned their GED in 2013. In 2014 with the changes in the GED, that number has dropped to about 55,000. Read the article.

Some states have stopped requiring the GED and have begun to require alternate testing. See the map.

The GED’s new alignment with the Common core means that even students that were homeschooled must become knowledgeable about the Common Core standards if they want to earn their GED.

The new GED test will not only flunk more students but will discourage many from even attempting the exam.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) has produced an excellent video explaining the Common Core. Featured in the video are James Millgram and Sandra Stotsky, the only two content experts on the Common Core Validation Committee. Along with three others validation committee members, they did not sign off on the Common Core State Standards.

Watch the movie.

For more information about the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, see their website.

Meet Jacob Barnett. His doctors and therapists advised his parents that due to his autism he would never talk. His mother, Kristine Barnett, decided to focus on what Jacob could do rather than what he could not do. Now, at fifteen years old, he attends Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario. Read more.

For many months the Romeike family, persecuted in Germany for homeschooling, has been seeking amnesty in the USA. They have been living in Tennessee and have been working with the Home School Legal Defense Association to obtain amnesty. Just this week, the US Supreme Court declined to consider their case, and the outlook appeared bleak, […]

If you are a student who took part of the GED and need to finish taking the rest, complete it before the end of December 2013, or you will have to start over. David Coleman, often called the “architect” of the Common Core State Standards, is now the president of the College Board which produces […]

In October 2012, David Coleman, often called the “architect” of the Common Core State Standards, became the president of the College Board which produces the SAT exam. More recently he announced he is  aligning the SAT with the Common Core State Standards. The ACT exam was already aligned with the Common Core State Standards in […]

“Anytime you’ve got a one size fits all attitude regarding education, it’s never good for the students, the parents, or education in general,..”

Dr. Brian Ray of the National Homeschool Education Research Institute (NHERI) has been compiling research on homeschool families and students for many years. Read about his findings.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association reports on the new figures (for 2010) researched by the National Homeschool Education Research Institute. See the press release.

Homeschooling is not just a matter of holding school at home. It is a complete, family-centered way of life. It is the original way children were educated. Only in modern times has the State stepped into do the job.