New High School Equivalency Exam Demands More of Teachers

New York’s high school equivalency exam has undergone some major changes. It’s now called the TASC, rather than the G.E.D. And it’s aligned with the Common Core learning standards, meaning it’s harder to pass. 

Teachers who work with teenagers and young adults who have dropped out of school, been expelled or are coming out of prison, said they faced an even more daunting task of preparing students for the test.

“I’m constantly looking at Common Core,” said Erin LeGendre, a teacher at CASES, an alternative education program. “I’m trying to teach my students how to think on a higher level.”

That’s no easy assignment. Most teachers at programs like these do not have to be certified and are paid less than their public school peers. Their students often deal with significant challenges in school — and life. But the teachers at CASES said the more rigorous standards were making them better at their jobs. And many students, too, were responding well to the extra demands.

The program spent two years restructuring to incorporate the Common Core standards in their work. They hired more people with master’s degrees and provided teachers with specialized training. 

“Before I got incarcerated I used to fail math, I just barely got by,” said one 20-year-old CASES student. “Now I'm starting to get used to it; I'm starting to actually like it.”

However, some educators said they were concerned that alternative education programs did not get enough funding and support to make the transition. Louise Grotenhuis, a school principal and education consultant who helped CASES adapt, said she had mixed feelings. 

“Do I think it’s going to work for young people in alternative ed?” she said. “Given the structures that exist now with short periods of time and not a lot of funding, No. And I worry about that.” 

On the other hand, she said, she supported the higher standards.

This story was produced by the Teacher Project, an education reporting initiative at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.