School sees rise in adult students taking GED

COVINGTON, Ky. - With an economy that fluctuates at best, many adults are opting to go back to school. To do that, they need the right tools and a high school diploma or a GED.

Right now, GED tests are free to those who live in Kentucky.

That was music to one single mother’s ears.

Nekita Murray, 24, is currently studying to take her GED at Gateway Community and Technical College in route to enroll there.

Back in 2001, the then-16-year-old said she left Withrow High School in Cincinnati because she was picked on and could no longer take it. But now, she said, it’s time for to get her education on track. Not just for her, but also for her son.

“I’m basically doing it for me and my child, but at the same time I want to let him know that no matter how old you get or whatever your circumstances may be, you can still go back and achieve your dreams, if that’s what you want to do,” said Murray, whose goal is to be a social worker, in order to help people and give back in exchanage for all the help she said she has received.

But it’s no easy road for the young mother.

“The GED is not easy, at all—it’s hard,” she said.

To prepare, she is taking math and reading classes. Murray said that she plans on taking the GED before the end of this year.

Murray is not unlike many others, said Peg Russell, director of Adult Education and COMPASS coordinator for Gateway. She has seen an influx in adult students looking to start their post-secondary education, as well as many who are coming back to school, preparing to take their GED—the first step in their long-term goals.

“There have been a lot of folks coming back, folks who have been able to function in the workforce, but as they’ve been laid off or their companies have moved, they’ve had to find new skills,” Russell said.

Many, ranging in age from 16 to 82, turn to community college, she said. And adult education programs can be helpful to get them ready for college or the workplace.

“Folks are wanting to go back to work," she said. "They know that the key to a better job is improved basic skills and more education and definitely post-secondary education.”

The director said that a student can enroll in the adult education, get their GED at the urban center in Covington, Ky., and then enroll into college courses at Gateway’s Edgewood campus, “seamlessly”.

In Kentucky, students who plan to take the GED are required to be “test-ready”. It’s a program that Gateway offers for free to its incoming students, said Russell.

“We want to make sure that before students go and sit through seven hours of testing that they actually have the skills and they’re prepared for the test and that there are no surprises when they get there.”

Those interested can enroll in any one of the 120 adult education programs throughout the Commonwealth. Every county has an adult education provider. Students work with experienced faculty for reading, writing, math, science and social studies, all of which are on the GED test. In those programs, they take a practice exam, which looks like the real test, so that on the day of the test, there are no surprises.

“It can be difficult to ask for help, but if you make it to our place, if you make it here to the urban center… we don’t care what your educational past has been,” Russell said. “[We] will work to get you to your educational goals.”

GED tests will be free to Kentuckians through June 30. Kentucky Adult Education, a unit of the Council on Post-secondary Education, will pay the usual $55 fee during this period.

To be eligible to take the GED, students must first successfully complete the GED Official Practice Test to make sure they are prepared for the actual test.

GED tests are currently offered only in a paper-pencil format at official GED Testing Centers, and cannot be taken online.

Gateway administers GED tests at the Urban Center at 525 Scott Blvd. in Covington, and at its Edgewood Campus at 790 Thomas More Parkway.

For more information and to check available dates at Gateway test sites, Kentucky residents can go to http://gateway.kctcs.edu/Academics/Testing_Services/GED or call (859) 442-1611. Information is also available from Cindy Sproehnle, Gateway Assessment Center director, at (859) 442-1159.