In 2014, $80 could keep some folks in Athens County away from higher education, officials have said.
Starting next year, the price for Ohioans taking the test for the General Equivalency Diploma, or GED, will rise from $40 to $120 — a threefold increase that is expected to impact how many tests are taken in Athens and, in the long run, possibly enrollment at Ohio University.
The state will pick up the difference for first-time test takers at least through the end of 2014, but repeat test-takers will bear the brunt of the full $80 price increase.
The price hike comes from doing away with the paper version of the test at the end of this year, said John Charlton, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education, adding that next year all GED tests will be computer-based.
The Athens County Department of Job and Family Services offers a GED training program each year, said Nick Claussen, spokesman for the department, who added that he’s worried the “huge” price increase would discourage would-be test takers from enrolling in department’s program.
During the 2013 fiscal year, more than 50 of the program’s enrollees passed the GED test, Claussen said.
“I know it’s going to be hard for a lot of people to pay for that,” he said.
Currently, 521 students at Ohio University are enrolled with a GED instead of a high school diploma, according to preliminary 2013 Fall Semester enrollment data.
But given the state’s offer to cover the difference for first-time test takers, Craig Cornell, OU’s vice provost for enrollment management, said he’s not expecting to see the change initially affect enrollment figures.
Still, access to higher education is already difficult for those in poverty, said Jacob Chaffin, a senior studying education, whose mother got her GED almost 20 years ago.
Had the price of the test been higher, Chaffin said he isn’t sure his family would have been able to afford his mom’s GED.
“We’re just burdening people who are trying to build their lives,” Chaffin said. “That’s kind of the story of education right now.”
But Charlton maintains that the new test will help lower-income families, even with the price increase.
“You get your results quicker,” Charlton said. “You’re not going to get that job if you don’t get your results back in time.”
With the paper test, it took anywhere from two to six weeks for test-takers to receive results, but Charlton said taking the test online could get results back in one week.
Nevertheless, putting a price tag on standardized tests isn’t something Chaffin likes to see.
“They are upping the gatekeeper,” he said.
sh335311@ohiou.edu
@SamuelHHoward
