Fewer Valley residents getting GED; 25K have no high school diploma

YOUNGSTOWN

Only 27 people in Mahoning County earned a GED diploma last year, compared with nearly 300 in 2013.

In 2014, Ohio, along with many other states, changed to a new, more difficult test as part of a nationwide college and career readiness push.

The 2013 number is high because there was an effort to encourage people to take the old test before it expired.

Only 65 people in Mahoning County took at least one part of the test last year.

Mia Panno, Youngstown’s Adult Basic Literacy Education coordinator and General Educational Development chief examiner, said fewer people are enrolling in the ABLE’s GED prep courses, too.

“People are afraid to take the test,” she said.

Across the country, fewer people are taking and passing the test. Ten states, including New York, West Virginia and Indiana, dropped the GED in favor of other high school equivalency tests. Other states

allow students to choose which test they want to take.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Mahoning County is home to nearly 25,000 residents who are older than 18 and don’t have a high school diploma.

Read more about the situation in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.