Northwest Arkansas home to some top GED scores

William Headrick, 18, of Tontitown earned one of the top 25 GED scores in the state last year.
William Headrick, 18, of Tontitown earned one of the top 25 GED scores in the state last year.

Some of the state's best scores on the GED test in 2014 came from test centers in Northwest Arkansas.

Northwest Technical Institute in Springdale had the fourth and 14th best scores. Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville had the 11th and 13th best scores. The University of Arkansas had the 25th best score, according to a list provided by Terri Ralston, adult education director at Northwest Technical Institute.

Arkansas GED Success

Here is a look at how many people have qualified for the GED credential and the success rate of those taking the test for the past five years in Arkansas.

YearNumber earning GEDPassage rate

20117,12985 percent

20126,54484 percent

20137,52886 percent

20141,28083 percent

2015^44895 percent

^through March 25

Source: Arkansas Department of Career Education

The top scorers will be invited to a ceremony in their honor April 29 at the Capitol Building in Little Rock, Ralston said.

The GED measures mastery of high school course work for those who haven't completed high school. A new GED aligned with Common Core educational standards was implemented in January 2014. It was the first time the GED had been revamped since 2002.

The new GED consists of four sections: science, math, social studies and reasoning through language arts. The top score possible on each section is 200 points. A test taker must score at least 150 points on each section in order to earn the GED credential.

Test-takers get between 90 minutes and 150 minutes to complete each section. Whereas the old GED consisted mostly of multiple choice questions, the new test includes a variety of question types ranging from fill-in-the-blank to short answer, according to Janice Hanlon, Arkansas' GED administrator.

Another change accompanying the new test is it's all done on computer. The old test was done with pencil and paper.

The new test is more rigorous than the old one, Hanlon said.

"People are really having to study and learn more with this new test," Hanlon said. "It's much more valid in terms of letting employers know or colleges or universities know that a person is college- and career-ready. My belief is if a person can pass a GED test, they can pass college courses."

BEST SCORES

A GED test-taker at Ozarka College achieved the state's highest overall score of 2014 with a 735, according to Hanlon. Ozarka College is in Northcentral Arkansas. Hanlon said she wasn't permitted to release that test-taker's name. Most of the other top scorers' names were not available as of last week.

William Headrick of Tontitown took the GED at Northwest Technical Institute last spring and ended up with the 14th-best score in the state last year. Headrick, 18, was home schooled starting in the seventh grade. He spent about two months last year studying for the GED at the institute.

"I enjoyed my experience there," Headrick said. "It was extremely helpful. They were really interested in trying to help me grow and think about my future and give me the best chance I could get."

Peggy Kelly, an adult education instructor at the institute, said it was a pleasure to work with Headrick.

"His work ethic is what was so great," Kelly said.

She said the new GED is extremely challenging.

"I'm not sure I know many people who could come in cold and pass it," Kelly said. "It's almost college level."

Headrick passed the social studies and language arts sections with honors and came close to doing the same on the science and math sections, he said. A score of at least 170 on a section qualifies a test-taker for honors, which means the test taker has demonstrated skills "consistent with those required to be career- and college-ready," according to the GED website.

Headrick's advice to those preparing to take the GED is not to make a bigger deal out of it than it is.

"A lot of people tend to stress about it, and I think that's what makes it hard," he said. "Take it seriously but don't think about it all the time."

Headrick works full time and is mulling his next move. He is considering going to college, but isn't entirely certain what kind of career to pursue.

NUMBERS DOWN

The number of people earning a GED was down significantly in 2014 from previous years, both in Arkansas and nationwide. Only 1,280 Arkansans earned a GED in 2014 compared to 7,528 in 2013, according to Arkansas Department of Career Education statistics.

There were several reasons for that decline, Hanlon said.

"We had a push at the end of 2013, really the entire year, to get people in because the test was going to change," Hanlon said. "We had a big push to try to finish the old test (in 2013), because if you didn't finish the old test you had to start over with the new one."

Another change that took effect in 2014 was the cost. What was previously free now costs test takers $4 per section, or $16 for the entire test. The state, however, heavily subsidizes the cost of each test.

As of last week, 448 Arkansans had earned their GED in 2015. Of those who have taken all four parts, nearly 95 percent have passed the test, Hanlon said.

Among states and territories that administer the GED, Arkansas typically ranks high in the passage rates of its test takers. Last year's passage rate of 83 percent trailed only Guam (89 percent) and Vermont (85 percent), Hanlon said.

Part of Arkansas' success has to do with the fact the state requires all potential GED test takers to pass a practice test first.

"It's not an easy test. We don't just let people walk in off the street and take it," Hanlon said.

Dave Perozek can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWADaveP.

NW News on 03/29/2015

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