Ohio GED waiver elimination fallout

The chief GED examiner recently called me to ask for help. After the state did away with a waiver that let people who passed a practice test take the main test for free, the number of people taking the GED dropped.

The fee of $55 was reduced to $40, but he said that for many of the people "that's grocery money."


The change was made to plug a hole in the state budget. To him, the fallout was that less people would try to get their GED.

There does seem to be some substance to his concerns. Without at least a GED, educators are saying it's tough if not impossible to find a job. Using the quinessential term "flipping burgers," that even takes a GED or a high school diploma. After the lay offs that's swept the nation, there's enough people searching for work for employers to be choosy.

While there's a bill pending in the Ohio Senate to restore the waiver, there's a catch. The bill doesn't have a way to fund it.

It will be interesting to see where this issue ends up.