The Tests of General Educational Development as predictors of student performance in five programs at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College for the years 1982-1988

The Tests of General Educational Employment Development (GED) provide adults who did not graduate from high school with opportunities to attend and graduate from postsecondary institutions. This study investigated the academic achievement of GED recipients as determined by grade point average and total hours earned to determine if the scores made on the subtests of the GED could serve as predictors of performance in various programs at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College (A-BTCC).;Each of the 232 GED recipients was enrolled in courses at A-BTCC at some time between the fall of 1982 and the summer of 1988. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to test for significant relationships. Coefficients were statistically significant for the total sample between the subtests of writing, social studies and the overall total and grade point average; for the subjects in Business Education between the subtests of writing and reading and grade point average; for the subjects in Engineering Technology between the subtests of writing, social studies and overall total and grade point average; and for subjects in Vocational-Industrial Education between the subtest of mathematics and grade point average.;Coefficients were not statistically significant for subjects in program areas of Allied Medical Education and General Education. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were not statistically significant in any of the program areas for total hours earned.;The mean grade point average for GED recipients was 2.5; the mean hours earned was 25. The GED proved to be a valid predictor of academic achievement as measured by grade point average. It is projected that GED recipients who have high GED scores may expect to experience success in a two-year college.