Is A GED Worthless?

By Michael Crook

Every June, thousands upon thousands of students walk across a stage and step away with a high school diploma. It is a rite of passage, a social more, really, and it is something for which there is no excuse to fail to do. Yet, in 2010, over 757,000 adults sat for a GED exam of some sort, according to a report released by the American Council on Education. There sat close to a million Americans. These million or so folks couldn't or wouldn't do a simple thing like graduate from high school in a traditional manner.

In many unemployment offices and GED offices around the nation, signs happily chirp that a GED "looks like a diploma, but works like a passport." Would that it were true. A GED won't get you as far as a high school diploma will. A GED proves nothing more than an ability to answer questions pertaining to reading, writing, math, science, and social studies correctly.

A high school diploma attests to the fact that the holder has successfully passed these classes, and is competent in areas pertaining to history, physical education and electives. Not only that, but depending upon the state and school district, a high school diploma can prove a person competent in areas such as a foreign language, performing arts, career skills, financial literacy, and health. Finally, a high school diploma attests that the holder has passed any pertinent state examinations, such as New Jersey's HSPA (formerly the HSPT). In short, a high school diploma is a testament to an infinitely higher level of competency over the competency of a GED holder.

Though many employers will accept applicants with a GED for menial positions, an applicant with a high school diploma is likely to be chosen over an applicant with a GED, because the former will have proven they can complete a task, and have the initiative to succeed in the real world. A GED holder has already shown an inability or unwillingness to adhere to a vital social more, only to seek reward by obtaining a GED. Now, if one can't complete an appallingly easy taks such as completing four years of high school, how can an employer count on them to stay on task with whatever job they're seeking?

A high school dropout is likely relegated to a lifetime of asking his or her peers if they want fries with that. So it should be for a GED holder. That may seem to be elitist, but those with a high school diploma have shown that they can complete a task, and can comply with social mores, and implied social contracts. They deserve to attain.

Someone with a GED may very well have studied for a test and passed it, which is indeed an honorable accomplishment, but the undeniable fact of the matter is that they sidestepped the work that was initially expected of them, and they failed to complete a task, just like most everyone else. I can accept a GED's value as pertains to boosting a person's self esteem.

Maybe they'll somehow feel better with a tangible reminder that they never actually finished high school, and that they essentially thumbed their noses at those with an earned station in life by virtue of the completion of a simple task that should have taken no more than four years. But a self-esteem booster is about all the worth that I'm willing to afford the GED.

A person should absolutely have a chance to better themselves and move on from poor choices in the past. But there are limits. One can be a pro-life protester, for example, see the error of their ways and help the pro-choice cause. I could even more easily accept someone with a minor criminal infraction some years ago, more than I could someone with no high school diploma earned in four years or less. No five-year plans, please.

No matter what the experts say, a GED is not a magical "passport." It may be warm and fuzzy, and it may make a high-school dropout feel better, but shielding the truth does not help. The truth is this: a GED holder will likely find it harder to compete with those with a high school diploma. Indeed, a GED holder may find it difficult to join the military, which welcomes most anyone, because in some cases, a GED holder is placed into a lower tier than he or she would be had high school been completed successfully.

The military, which offers a solution for those with little education and no marketable skills (along with those with a skillset and an education, of course), may very well close its recruiting doors to someone with a GED, leaving that person with arrogant expectations of a magical "passport" to be out in the very same cold that a high school dropout experiences. Cruel? Maybe, but that's life. Life is for closers.

Of course, some branches, such as the National Guard, offer a chance to earn a GED in order to move forward, but on the other hand, the Army has discontinued its GED program in the past, so dropouts must catch as catch can, whereas a holder of a high school diploma truly holds a passport, if only metaphorically.

We sit in 2012. No longer are we esconced in the farm days of the 1930's or 1940's, when a child's help was needed on the family farm. It was never right to deny a child a basic education, but one can understand that although it is appalling that farming parents would expect their children to work instead of obtaining an education, there was some merit to it.

These days, however, there is absolutely no excuse for not graduating from high school. Today's high schools can meet most any need, as long as the student is willing. Learning disabilities, special needs, and most anything else can be dealt with, just so long as the student is willing to put forth the effort. With this in mind, there is absolutely no excuse not to finish high school. The only thing limiting a person from graduating from high school is that person and their own laziness, arrogance or defiant attitude.

In my days as a retail manager, and as a company owner, more than one applicant breathlessly handed me an application, thinking they had what it took to work for me. Their anticipation turned to disappointment when I turned them away, advising them that I'd call them should we not be able to find an applicant who had at least a high school diploma.

They never were called. By turning away dropouts and GED holders (which are one and the same to me), I sent a strong message. Hopefully, other employers did the same, and hopefully it sank in that high school really was the key!

A person with a GED can and should never compete against a counterpart who has a high school diploma, even if they pursue further education. I, for one, would be appalled if I were to find someone in fields such as medical/nursing, law enforcement, education, and most anything else held a GED. A GED holder, in my opinion, should be content to flip burgers or perform menial office tasks. Let those with the diplomas and degrees take over. That's how this thing called life works.

To me, it does not matter if someone earns a GED and then goes on to college. By failing to complete four simple years of high school, a person shows an inability to adhere to social mores and an inability to follow through. It really is just that simple. A June 25, 2010 article in the Wall Street Journal quotes Nicholas S. Mader and John Eric Humphries, authors of "The GED" as saying a GED offers "minimal value," and indeed it is so.

Personally speaking, I would never date a woman with a GED. I would be mortified were I to date, marry or have children with a GED holder. There are some things that just shouldn't happen, and a GED holder shouldn't be a hanger-on. A holder of a high school diploma or higher certainly deserves better than a GED holder.

Someone with a GED may very well be intelligent, although one could question the intelligence of refusing to complete high school to begin with. I can understand their desire to achieve, and even their desire to better themselves, but there are some things in life that simply must be done. Completing high school on the traditional four-year track is one of them.

It bears repeating that in this day and age that there is absolutely no reason, at least none that I can find, to not finish high school, other than laziness, arrogance, defiance, or a combination thereof. If a student is struggling in math or another subject, help is available. If a student has medical issues, help is likewise available, so claims of long periods of illness fall on deaf ears with me. Most school districts have home schooling for just such a situation.

Once again, there is no excuse not to finish high school, and should you encounter a person who has a GED, it is my belief that they may as well be wearing a sign that says,"I'm lazy and too arrogant to finish high school." A holder of a high school diploma, however, can proudly wear a sign that says, "I have what it takes! I finished high school, and can complete a task!" It's almost as if GED holders are trying to squeak by, hoping to achieve just like everyone else, but without putting in the work and paying their dues. Therein lies the arrogance. On one hand, I can respect the survivalist mentality, but this is the real world, and the real world is for closers.

Perhaps the reason I take such a hard line on this matter is because of all it took for me to graduate. I encountered obstacles that have caused those with similar challenges to cut and run. The easy answer would have been to drop out and seek my GED. In fact, the GED was presented as an option to me by several people outside of the school. I, however, refused to consider it for even a moment. I endured to the end, even though it would have been financially beneficial in the short run to drop out and pursue a GED.

I put myself through the latter part of my junior year, and my entire senior year. Let's see the majority of high school students do that. Was it easy? No. Did I want to quit? Yes. But I did not. My reward was a high school diploma, and perhaps what I went through to get there is why I simply cannot understand why in this day and age people cannot or will not finish high school. I have never considered a GED to be valid, and I never will.

Is a GED worthless? To polite society, and to decent society, the answer should be clear: yes. Perhaps in the trailer parks and projects a GED holds some validity, but in the real world, it is more useful as toilet paper.