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GED Testing Service Moves to Assist Katrina Evacuees, Restore Services

GED Testing Service Moves to Assist Katrina Evacuees, Restore Services  

WASHINGTON

The American Council on
Education’s General Educational Development (GED) Testing Service
announced a range of temporary policies regarding candidates and
testing centers in the gulf states of Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

In a message to state
administrators, the GED Testing Service urged greater flexibility in
dealing with issues such as identification and residency requirements.
The GED Testing Service also pledged to expedite requests for
establishing new testing centers and replacing test batteries and to
provide financial assistance to jurisdictions that experience a
significant increase in testing volume due to an influx of hurricane
evacuees. The new rules are in effect through Dec. 31, 2005.

“Hurricane Katrina
ravaged the Gulf Coast and inflicted a significant toll on the
residents, institutions and services available in the region,” said
Benjamin F. Quillian, senior vice president of the American Council on
Education. “By adding more flexibility to our policies and procedures,
and working to expedite requests for new testing centers and
replacement materials we hope to help the states in the gulf region
restore GED testing for interested candidates.”

Among the specific steps taken by the GED Testing Service:

  • Urging test administrators to
    advise candidates evacuated from storm-damaged areas and how to obtain
    new identification documents;
  • Encouraging
    jurisdictions to waive residency requirements for evacuees previously
    residing in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama;
  • Encouraging
    jurisdictions with additional state-specific requirements or tests
    (e.g. state citizenship) for awarding a high school credential to waive
    the additional requirements for evacuees from Louisiana, Mississippi
    and Alabama;
  • Agreeing to expedite inspections of new testing sites in evacuation centers and in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama;
  • Granting testing centers the opportunity to exceed test usage regulations due to increased demand for testing services;
  • Agreeing to replace test
    batteries destroyed by the storm, based on the anticipated volume of
    testing through the end of the year;
  • Identifying telephone contacts for evacuees to access their scores from previously completed tests; and
  • Establishing a grant
    program for state GED programs that experience an increase in test
    volume due to an influx of evacuees from Louisiana, Mississippi and
    Alabama.



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