Ged.....

[Star*]

Have any of you ever heard of a provisional GED for emotionally disturbed or institutionalized children?

I wrote the state today asking how they expected a kid who has spent most of his time in non-accredited schools to get a GED with a 5th grade education. I cited he has been denied FAPE. It was free, but it wasn't proper.

I'm waiting to hear if they will give us a hearing to make provisions for Dude to get a special test. There is no way with the education he received in Residential Treatment Center (RTC)'s, phosps, and Group homes - he can take a GED regular and get his equivilancy. Just wondered if anyone else had insight?

 

[Sheila]

Never heard of it.

Let us know what reply you receive.

 

[Star*]

Here is the reply I received back -

Dear Ms. Star (I omitted my name)

There are accommodations available for the GED exam for individuals with disabilities. The GED exam is not an easy exam. The GED exam is normed in such a way that 4 out of every 10 high school seniors will not pass on their first attempt. There is no provisional GED exam. Everyone takes the same exam. The accommodations allow the candidate to take the exam in a different manner. Depending on the candidates disability, candidates may be granted extra time, breaks, calculator for both parts of the exam, private testing, audiocassette testing, etc.

Prior to taking the GED exam, the candidate should be enrolled in a preparation program that meets his or her needs. The GED exam is written on approximately an 11th grade level. The local adult education program should provide an appropriate instructional program, based on your son's abilities.

If you are interested in obtaining the forms necessary to apply for test accommodation for the GED exam or have additional questions, please contact Ms. Colleen Clark in the GED Testing Office

You may reach her at 803-734-4831.

Good luck.

David Stout

David B. Stout, Ed.D.
Director,
Office of Adult Education and
GED Administrator
South Carolina Department of Education
803.734.8348

 

[Sheila]

That's what I thought, but wasn't sure.

They forgot to tell you one thing.

Until Dude graduates from high school, the sd is still responsible for educating him until his 22nd birthday.

That's probably a battle you don't want to fight with-Dude or sd.... (Gives me the shivers just to think about it. I thank God for everyday difficult child remains in the classroom.)

 

[DDD]

In Florida you can sign up to take the GED exam at various tech centers and, I believe, Jr. colleges. You pay to take the tests (two parts) and then get the results broken down to show your strengths and weaknesses so you can do independent prep. This is what we did with easy child/difficult child after his initial recovery from the brain surgery. Although his IQ greatly reduced following surgery, his long term memory was strong enough that he passed.

There are adult education classes (that would be free for Dude) at most community colleges in the evening. I believe he would be eligible for free enrollment. Also there are prep courses on the computer. difficult child (who graduated last May and opted to leave our home to join GFGmom during his Senior year ) earned his General Diploma but tested so low in math at the community college he will not be allowed to take remedial math there. He has to do the adult education classes OR use the math game sites that I used to teach him math eight years ago, to get up to speed.

I would think whatever was most comfortable for Dude would be the best choice so he doesn't feel unduly stressed. Good luck. DDD

 

[rlsnights]

You may find this article helpful.

http://www.ldonline.org/article/Taking_the_GED_Tests:_Requesting_Accommodations

Your state may also have an informational website on Taking the GED with accommodations. Google it and see if you can find something or check your state dept of ed website.

Assuming it's not an option for him to get a HS diploma as a student with disabilities, you may just want to skip the whole GED thing and get him to take a few community college classes.

If he can pass those (preferably English and/or Math at the college level) then he can cite that info on job apps as a way of showing that he is capable of performing at that level.

If he's not capable of getting at least a C in a college level class and it's not due to learning disabilities but to poor quality or consistent instruction, then enrolling him in adult ed classes may be the only realistic option. Hopefully he will be motivated to stick with the program and get the education he needs to be able to take and pass the GED with accommodations.

 

[dreamer]

Star, thats what Im up against too. difficult child here can function to some degree, but cannot be IN the classroom or in the testing center. our comm coll did go thru ged prep with her and they say shes more than ready BUT..........no accomodations permitted for ged test and she simply freaks. a simple bit of music would soothe and calm her, but our ged test center refuses. and yes it was all free for her here. and yes they told us if she can do some coll classes, it would help---and they WILL let her take certain ones even without GED.

 

[DammitJanet]

We went up against this too years ago. It is why Cory says he just cant get his GED. I think he has a phobia about being on the campus. He actually tests pretty well on the stupid pre tests they give him but they want him to sit in these classes in these small rooms for hours on end doing boring busy work to satisfy some sort of criteria. I have never figured out just what that criteria is. They wouldnt just let him try to take the test and see what happened.

He may have passed. He is actually pretty good at math. He has helped both Lindsey and Mandy with their homework...lol. He is the one who got it right!

 

[Robinboots]

Just a quick add - my GFG17 passed the GED, took him a couple hours for the entire test, tops. First attempt, with barely a year of h.s. He scored well over 500 in all areas but two - one was 460, one was 620.

Just sayin'. If the Dept. of Ed. thinks it's tough...well, they might want to review the test!

 

[DammitJanet]

They didnt make us take a pre-test back in 1980. I took my GED in June of 1980. I was supposed to graduate that year but because of a mix up in my 11th grade english class not getting counted as a credit, I didnt graduate. This even though I passed my senior year english and this was the first year VA started testing students for graduating. I placed second highest in the entire state of VA on the end of grade tests for 12th grade and they still wouldnt let me graduate. Idjits. I refused to go back to HS another year to take one class so I took my GED.

Do remember...I did all of this while being stoned out of my mind and took the GED not two weeks after being raped...lol.

 

[Sheila]

I'm going to archive this after a while.

PS: something like listening to an iPod with- earphone would be an acco
modation. I'd want the SEA to address this issue--not the clerk on duty that probably says things like this becaue "that's the way we do it.". Lol

 

[Sheila]

I'm going to archive this after a while.

PS: something like listening to an iPod with- earphone would be an acco
modation. I'd want the SEA to address this issue--not the clerk on duty that probably says things like this becaue "that's the way we do it.". Lol