New Hampshire Joins Growing List of States Choosing HiSET ™ Program to Replace the GED® Test
ETS's HiSET ™ offers affordable, accessible alternative to the GED® test
PRINCETON, N.J., April 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New Hampshire has become the second state to announce that it will use the HiSET ™ program as its exclusive provider of high school equivalency testing. Beginning in 2014, the state will no longer use the GED® test and begin using the HiSET program developed by nonprofit Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the University of Iowa's Iowa Testing Program (ITP).
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The announcement follows the Montana Department of Public Instruction's adoption of the HiSET test last month. New Hampshire joins an increasing numbers of states, educators, policymakers and employers looking for a high school proficiency exam that includes elements that are critical to providing out-of-school youth and adults with proof of their readiness for higher education or the workplace.
"The New Hampshire Department of Education looks forward to working with ETS to provide our residents with a high-quality, affordable and readily available high school equivalency test that will allow them to successfully complete postsecondary educational programs and qualify for high-quality employment opportunities," says Art Ellison, Administrator, Bureau of Adult Education, New Hampshire Department of Education.
The test will measure the same competencies as the current GED® test, but the advantages of the HiSET program include:
- Paper-based and computer-based test delivery to serve the greatest number of candidates
- Affordable test fees to keep this valuable credential accessible for candidates, states and educational programs
- Up to two retests in the same calendar year, for no additional cost
- Flexibility with the use of existing test centers, test prep and curricula and a choice of scoring vendor options
- English and Spanish versions of the test
- Test design and validation by experts in assessment development for fair and reliable results
Furthermore, the HiSET program offers much needed flexibility to states wanting to avoid GED® score expiration in 2014 by supporting combined pre-2014 GED® scores with HiSET scores to issue equivalency credentials.
"ETS welcomes the opportunity to work with educators in New Hampshire to provide learners in their state with a high-quality high school equivalency exam that measures the test taker's readiness for higher education or the workplace," says John Oswald, Vice President and General Manager, K–12 Student Assessment Programs, ETS.
"The Phase 1 HiSET test is designed to be compatible with current instructional materials used for high school equivalency assessment," adds Oswald. "Phase 2 of the HiSET program will align more fully with the Common Core State Standards, also known as CCSS. Since instructional programs for CCSS at the high school level do not yet exist, the Phase 2 HiSET test allows time for instructional providers to learn how to teach the CCSS."
"In addition, it will measure the more rigorous college- and career-readiness standards that most states will use as the goal of a high school education beginning in 2014–2015," Oswald says. "ETS and ITP will work with the states in designing the Phase 2 assessments."
For more information about the ETS HiSET program, please visit http://hiset.ets.org/.
About ETS
At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and post-secondary education, as well as conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL® and TOEIC ® tests, the GRE® tests and The Praxis Series™ assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org
SOURCE Educational Testing Service
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