Paul Szmal: It is 8.15 on FLX Morning here on Finger Lakes News Radio. We do have a couple of school announcements to pass along this morning. Cayuga Community College's Auburn and Fulton campuses are closed and the Tompkins-Cortland Community College campus is closed for today.
I'd like to welcome in Liz Searle from the Literacy Volunteers of Ontario and Yates County joining us this morning via Zoom. Liz, good morning. How are you this morning?
Liz Searle: I'm good, Paul. How are you doing?
Paul Szmal: Doing well, doing well. And we wanted to talk about one of the services the Literacy Volunteers provides and that is helping people to get their GED. We hear those letters kicked around a lot and I'm not sure if people understand exactly what a GED is. Can you fill us in?
Liz Searle: I sure can. And in fact, well, the GED stands for the General Education Development Tests. There's four subject matter tests that an individual would have to take in order to earn their high school equivalency diploma. So the GED is actually the pathway to get to the diploma, which we refer to as the HSE diploma.
Paul Szmal: Okay. So what are those four basic elements that people get tested on?
Liz Searle: So there's English, well, they call it ELA, and math, science, and social studies. And I will say that helping folks get their high school equivalency diploma has been kind of a standard thing that we've done ever since Literacy Volunteers got started. But we've been seeing a bit of an uptick in interest for that in the last few years. So we're excited that folks who maybe didn't complete high school or had something interrupt their schooling are interested in obtaining that credential because it really is a very meaningful credential to receive that's required in a lot of places. So we're happy to help folks who are interested in doing that.
Paul Szmal: And do you wind up taking these four tests concurrently, or are they administered on separate occasions for separate sessions?
Liz Searle: That's a great question because the process is different today than it was a number of years ago when maybe you did have to sit for all the exams in one day, making for a very, very long day. And that's not the case now. Now you schedule to take each subtest individually. You can choose to take two in one day if you want, but each test is scheduled separately. You travel to one of the local testing sites. Generally, tests are administered on a computer these days, which is convenient because the results are usually available within an hour. So that's very exciting. There are circumstances when a student can request to take a paper-based test, but most of it is done on a computer.
And at Literacy Volunteers, when we're working with someone who's pursuing their HSE, their intake with us is the same as any other learner. But part of what we do is look at the individual's high school transcript to see if they have any Regents credit. Because if someone passes a Regents test on one of those four GED subjects, math, science, social studies, or ELA, they likely can claim that credit towards their GED. So if they passed a math Regents, that will likely count as their GED math test and they won't have to take that test, which is pretty exciting.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, so that's kind of where we start our process. All right. We're talking with Liz Searle from the Literacy Volunteers of Ontario, Yates County, about their help with the GED course. Roughly how long does it take for the average person to prepare that wants to get the GED?
Liz Searle: You know, there really is not an average time because it depends on the individual, where they are, when they start the process. If they have any Regents credits, like I just described, you know, if they do, that's going to, you know, shorten the amount of time that they need to prepare because they're preparing for fewer tests. We've had folks come in and work with us literally for just a couple of months and get through all their testing. And then other learners who are with us for a longer time. And it's really where the learner is and if they have any particular challenges that we need to work with them on.
What's nice about the stateged.com website, and I would encourage anyone who's kind of considering going for their high school diploma to take a look at that. But there are sample tests, sample test questions for each of the test subjects on there. So someone can go in and take a look at how they're written and kind of see how they do in some of those subject matters. But there's also practice tests. So when we're working with a learner and they're getting ready for an exam, we'll give them a practice test. And it's really great the way that the system grades those because it will come back and tell us that this learner is likely to pass the actual exam or maybe unlikely or perhaps too close to call. And that helps us know what areas we might need to still work with that learner on.
Paul Szmal: So you use a combination of practice tests and other things to prepare people for the GED exams then?
Liz Searle: Right. The basis is still our one-to-one tutoring that we do with all of our learners. And the tutor will work on the particular subject matter if there are areas that are a challenge to the learner, as well as helping the learner just get familiar with the format of the tests on the computer. You know, that can be something that takes a little getting used to. So we help everyone get comfortable with all those pieces so that when they actually sit for the exam, they only have to worry about the exam, right? They don't have to worry about, how do I use this mathematical calculator on the computer screen because we've already worked with them on how that works. So we try to get them as comfortable as possible with the skills that they need in order to take the exam so that they can just be comfortable testing their knowledge.
Paul Szmal: And I take it then the practice test questions is very similar to the kind of prep that maybe somebody would do with their child if they're getting ready to take the SAT or the ACT?
Liz Searle: I would guess so. I can't say that for certain, but that would make sense to me.
Paul Szmal: All right. We're talking with Liz Cyril from Ontario Yates Literacy Volunteers about the GED program. Once you have the prospective person prepared to take the test, do you then assist with the scheduling and the administering of that, or is that done separately?
Liz Searle: We don't assist with the administering because there's actual testing sites that that's their job to do that. And the individual can schedule the test online. They can look at, you know, the subject matter they're looking at, and they can see where it's being offered at local different testing sites and see where they'd like to go. But we can help with that if they need some help with that. And then we do have tutors that sometimes accompany the learner to the test, not to go into the test, but they might provide some encouragement and be there afterwards. So that's some of the work that our tutors do.
Paul Szmal: And can you explain why getting the GED is important?
Liz Searle: Well, so again, for those individuals who maybe didn't complete high school, didn't get a traditional high school diploma, they're missing that that prime credential that kind of everyone is looking for in order to get their foot in the door anywhere. Whether they want to go on to college or trade school, most of the time they're required to have a GED. And job opportunities also are much greater if you can point to the fact that you've already achieved that credential. So it really is something that we encourage people to pursue if they have the slightest interest in doing so because of the value it brings.
Paul Szmal: And if people want to find out more about the tutoring and the programs that you have available related to getting ready to take the GED test, how can people find out that information?
Liz Searle: Probably the easiest way to reach out to us is through our website, which is www.lvoy.com. There's a form in there that they can complete if they're interested in obtaining some services and talking to us. And we'd be happy to answer any of their questions and kind of explain the process to them if they're interested.
Paul Szmal: Wonderful. Liz, thank you so much for sharing this morning. Glad to have you on board.
Liz Searle: Thanks, Paul. It is 824 on FLX Morning.
