The GED and Students with Learning Disabilities and/or ADHD
Kathleen Ross-Kidder, Ph.D.
Taken from January 7, 2002 edition of LD Online Newsletter
Many students leave high school before graduating. Some struggle in school with personal problems. Sometimes students’ poor choices result in school failure and finding no success they leave school early.
Over 18 million adults in the United States have not completed high school. Glenn Young of the United States Department of Education suggests that as many as one-half of these students, or 50%, may have a learning disability and/or ADHD that contributed to their decision to leave school without a high school diploma. The precise number of students with learning disabilities, however, is difficult to determine. Many times these problems were not diagnosed in school. This may be especially true for women.
Employment success, however, is often degree driven. A person who does not have a high school diploma is less likely to find a good job. Adults with LD and/or ADHD are more likely not to have the needed diploma. For all adults without a high school diploma the GED, or Tests of General Education Development, is an important option.
The GED measures how much a person has learned. It is not an easy test. Only 67% of current high school seniors are expected to pass this test. This pass rate is set so that perspective employers and colleges know the person who has a GED does know what other high school graduates know.
This month the GED Testing Service introduces the new version of the GED. The new version of the GED tests the type of learning today’s students need. On the new test different types of test items are presented. For example, in the new test it is possible to use a calculator on some of the math problems. Some items use graphs. Tests are put on a “bubble sheet” that can score test answers automatically.
There is concern that the new tests are not “fair” for students with learning disabilities and/or ADHD. In the new test norming process, the GED did include students with LD and/or ADHD. This is important. This means the GED’s goal is to assure that tests items do not unfairly punish students with LD and/or ADHD. In addition students with disabilities can request needed accommodations when taking the GED.
Others are concerned that there are students who did not finish the old version of the GED. Some students passed some of the tests but still had one or two they planned to take. For example, a student might have passed all of the tests but Math. The student retook the math test and again could not pass it. He decided to try one more time in the year 2002.
Their concern is correct. This student will need to retake the whole, new version of the GED. For the past two years the GED has published the fact that students who did not complete the old version of the GED would not be able to complete the old test.
It is important to remember that the GED is an excellent option for adults who have not graduated with a traditional high school diploma. Dale S. Brown in her book, Learning A Living, a book that offers advice for people with learning disabilities and ADHD, notes “people who do not yet have their General Equivalency Diploma (GED) can learn the skills online.“ In her new book, co-authored with Richard Bolles who wrote What Color Is Your Parachute, Ms. Brown writes that more and more people with disabilities are getting better educated. This is a good thing. “Because employers are requiring more and more education and credentials. And lack of requisite skills and training were cited by two out of five employers as possible barriers to the hiring and advancement of people with disabilities. (Bolles & Brown, 2001, p. 102.)
In their book, Unlocking Potential: College and other choices for people with LD and AD/HD,(2000) Taymans and her co-authors also identify the importance of education and training. Most employers, colleges, and universities today will accept a GED if a student does not have a traditional high school diploma.
CAN I GET ACCOMMODATIONS ON THE GED?
Many adults with LD and ADHD do not know that they can receive accommodations during testing when taking the GED. Accommodations are changes in how the test is given. For example, a student with ADHD is often very distracted by noise that others make in a classroom. This student can take the test in a private room. Another student may have a visual-motor problem processing problem. This student cannot line numbers or spaces correctly. A scribe could help the student fill in the test answer sheet so that answers are written in the right space.
Neil Sturomski, an educational consultant, explains that the process of requesting accommodations on the GED. First, a person must have a diagnosed, and documented disability. This means a licensed professional must attest to the LD and/or ADHD. The professional must also document, or show, how this diagnosis was obtained. It is important to know what kind of testing is required.
The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines criteria agencies must use to ascertain, or know, that a disability is present. It is important to know your rights under the ADA. The GED Testing service, just like public schools, the college testing service, and other agencies that administer gateway tests, has a set of standards that must be met to diagnose the disability.
For example, a person cannot say, “My teachers always told me I had a learning disability,” and expect accommodations on the GED due to LD. There is no documentation or any formal record of a disability. A person can obtain testing that identifies the LD and/or ADHD from a licensed professional. If that testing identifies a disability then a person can request accommodations. Employers and universities require the same type of documentation when accommodations dues to LD and/or ADHD are requested.
The steps to request needed accommodations due to LD and/or ADHD on the GED are relatively easy.
- Go to the local GED testing center.
- Request Form L-15.
- Read this form carefully to see what is needed. Your GED center staff should be able to help with this. Form L-15 walks you through the steps you need to take. Obtain the needed information.
- Present the completed Form L-15 to the local GED Administrator.
- The GED then has licensed professionals trained in the fields of LD and/or ADHD who review the requests and approve them. Almost 90% of requests for accommodations due to LD and/or ADHD are approved. Requests that are not approved are often returned with a request for more information.
The GEDTS goal is to support individuals with disabilities and provide them with the accommodations necessary to ensure access. For additional information, please call GEDTS at (202) 939-9490 or check the GED website.
For more information about learning disabilities, visit www.ldonline.org.