Optimal GED Student Recruitment: Perceptions of Program Directors

Much is unknown about those who do not finish high school and there is a need to understand who enters and completes alternative high school completion programs, such as the HiSet (High School Equivalency Test), GED (General Education Development Test), or growing number of state sponsored high school equivalency programs. The purpose for conducting the study was to describe the perceptions of adult education program coordinators about how to best categorize potential high school credential alternative completers. Using a phenomenological framework and semi-structured interviews, 12 adult education program administrators were interviewed about who enrolls in and completes their programs. A thematic analysis of these responses indicated distinct categories of individuals including opportunists (those looking for better opportunities), exceptionals (those with exceptionalities such as a disability that prevented the individual from completing a traditional high school diploma), immigrants (those validating learning in another country or language learners), and those who have been reformed in some way (e.g., those with a history of difficulty with legal situations). By identifying these initial categories of adult learners taking part in high school equivalency programs, recruitment efforts as well as the programs themselves might be better structured to correspond to learner needs.