GED Test changes coming; KCKCC adding afternoon class

With new changes coming in the GED test in 2014, the Kansas City Kansas Community College Adult Education Program will be offering a new afternoon session this fall.

The new afternoon class will be held from 1-4:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays on the KCKCC campus at 7250 State Avenue.

In addition, the College will continue to offer morning sessions from 8:30 a.m.-noon Mondays through Thursdays and evening sessions from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Prospective students can call 913-288-7660 to sign up for the first enrollment in August. The enrollment fee is $50 for the entire school year and is payable the first day of enrollment.

The additional session has been added to accommodate an expected increase in enrollment due to the changes coming to the GED Test.

Beginning in January, 2014, it will become a computer based-test that will undergo some major changes in order to meet the more rigorous standards needed for college and the workplace.

The test will still be given at KCKCC and other local testing sites across the country.

According to the American Council on Education (ACE) and Pearson, the company that has joined ACE to develop this new test, three primary components of the GED 21st Century Initiative will be included. They are:

• “A new, more rigorous GED Test aligned with Common Core State Standards designed to ensure career- and college-readiness;

• “A national test preparation program featuring an expanding array of innovative and personalized learning resources; and,

• “A transition network that connects GED test-takers to career and postsecondary educational opportunities.”

“What this means to people who need to take the GED Test is that the test will be different and more difficult than the present version,” says Rosemary Lischka, Director of  KCKCC Continuing Education and Community Services. “Currently, there are five components to the test – Writing, Math, Social Studies, Science and Reading.  An essay is required in the Writing component. In the new test, Reading and Writing will be combined so that there will be four components and the essay will be a part of the Reading/Writing component.  That essay will require higher critical thinking skills than the present test. In addition, there will be another essay in the Social Studies component.”

The new test will last approximately the same 7½ hours as the current test and will be aligned with the Common Core Standards that have been adopted for kindergarten through high school in Kansas and across the nation. The current GED Test will be offered through December, 2013. 

In Kansas, passing the Official GED Practice Test is a requirement in order to take the Official GED Test. KCKCC offers the Official Practice Test twice a month and the GED Test once a month.  Prospective examinees must sign up in person for both tests. 

The cost of the Official GED Practice Test is $50; the GED Test $85. Examinees do not need to be residents of Kansas to take the test. The college also offers the GED Test in Spanish. Persons with questions or needing additional information are urged to call 913-288-7660.