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For the first time since 1945, Massachusetts adults taking a high school equivalency test will not take a General Educational Development, or GED exam.
State education officials announced Thursday they’ve selected Educational Testing Service to administer a new exam, called HiSET.
“ETS is an experienced testing company that will deliver a high quality exam,” Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester said in a statement.
The new HiSET exam will be available in late January or early February, and information about the new fee structure will be released in the coming weeks, DESE said.
After DESE went out to bid, GED Testing Service submitted a proposal as did CTB/McGraw Hill LLC.
GED spokesman Armando Diaz said GED revises its test every 10 years and said the new test offered in January is only available to be taken on a computer. The three-year contract will not require any state expenditure, as people who take the test will bear the cost, DESE spokesman J.C. Considine told the News Service.
Considine said if the state had selected GED for testing this year the cost for test-takers would be “slightly higher.” The HiSET model will phase in the more rigorous, national career and college readiness standards rather than introducing them all in January, Considine said.
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