High School Equivalency Exams to Get New Look Next Year in NJ

The path to a high school equivalency degree in New Jersey is about to get more complicated, as the old GED test gets phased out by the end of the year and new menu of choices is rolled out for adults going back to get their diplomas. The familiar GED test is ending across the country. The nonprofit organization that developed and administered the test was acquired by for-profit Pearson Vue Testing, which has remade the test and how it will be administered to roughly 1 million individuals nationwide each year, starting in 2014.

The start date next year gave each state the opportunity to decide how it would handle the change. As in several other states, the Christie administration has announced that New Jersey will provide a range of options for individuals seeking to take the equivalency exam. In a proposal presented to the State Board of Education last week, the state Department of Education listed three providers approved by the state for the first year: Pearson, the Education Testing Service and McGraw-Hill.

Peter Shulman, the assistant state commissioner, said the administration hoped that providing the range of options keep the testing affordable and provide easier access to the five-part equivalency test.

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