Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - What employers look for: the GED versus the diploma

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Monday, March 26, 2001
What employers look for: the GED versus the diploma
GED holders may not make as much as grads, but some try harder in college
By Jeremy Schwartz
Caller-Times
More than 5 percent of the class of 1999 in Corpus Christi Independent School District left school and received a high school equivalency certificate.
   Those students aren't counted as dropouts by the state. But many researchers believe they should be counted because they never completed high school.
   Researchers say that if the more than 100 CCISD students from the class of 1999 who opted to take the General Educational Development test go on to college, the fact they don't have diplomas probably won't hurt them. But if they take their GED certificates directly into the workforce, their earnings are likely to be closer to those of a dropout than a high school graduate.

George Tuley/Caller-Times

Angie Martinez works in her GED class on the Del Mar College West campus. The college has seen an increase in students seeking GEDs in recent years.

   "The real value of the GED is that it gets you into post-secondary education and if you complete that, you're way ahead of the game," said Ed Fuller, a senior research and policy specialist at the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin. "Otherwise, in the workforce it won't help that much."
   Many researchers say the GED does not have the same earning power as a diploma. For employers, the diploma can be a sign of a job candidate's ability to stick with something, while the GED can be a signal that the person does not persevere.
   At the same time, argues Brown University professor John Tyler, some GED earners, especially older adults who return to school, can do better than young high school graduates because of their greater motivation.
   Several human resource directors for large companies in the area said a diploma is preferable to a GED, but perhaps not as important as a job applicant's work ethic.
   "I would always rather see somebody complete high school," said Craig Reynolds, human resource director with Sam Kane Beef Processors, which employs about 500 people. "But regardless, I'm still looking for attitude. There are a lot of people with degrees but with terrible work ethics."
   Experience important
   For companies like Sherwin Alumina, a metal manufacturing plant in Gregory, that don't have many entry-level positions, work experience is more important than whether an employee has a GED or a diploma.
   "They're probably pretty much equal," said Larry Bittle, human resource manager. "It depends on their experience since that time."
   Corpus Christi students are getting GEDs at a higher rate than the state average of 4 percent. In the class of 1998, the disparity was even greater, as 6.2 percent received GEDs instead of graduating, compared with 4.3 percent statewide.
   Several other Coastal Bend school districts are following that trend, including Sinton, where 8 percent of the class of 1999 received GEDs; Aransas County, 5.6 percent; Beeville, 6.8 percent; and Flour Bluff, 7.2 percent.
   Two perspectives

Click to enlarge

   Christina Palacios, GED program coordinator at Del Mar College, said her classes have seen rapid growth in high school-age students.
   "We've seen a dramatic increase in youth wanting to come," she said. "The sad thing is there are public schools wanting to send their troubled students to a place like this rather than dealing with them."
   Some researchers have suggested schools will encourage low-performing students to take the GED so they won't drag down the school's TAAS scores, an allegation disputed by Maria Goodloe, assistant superintendent for instruction and school services for CCISD.
   Goodloe said encouraging students to get a GED is never the first option, but that for some students, the equivalency exam is the best route.
   "If you have students with job responsibilities or who are single parents, or 17 in the ninth grade, the reality for them may be to get the GED," she said.
   Better grades
   Last year, Del Mar College, the area's largest provider of GED classes, administered the GED test to 1,391 students, 50 percent of whom were 19 or younger, and 60 percent of whom passed the exam. Statewide, students under 19 accounted for 44 percent of examinees.
   The number of Del Mar College GED examinees has risen 57 percent since 1991, when it gave the test to 883 students. In 1997, it peaked at 1,626 examinees.
   Del Mar College has a higher passing rate than the state and 42 percent of its students who pass enroll in college-level courses at Del Mar, Palacios said. Once in those classes, GED students earn better grades as a group than diploma carriers, as 52.7 percent of GED students have a 2.0 grade point average or better compared with 50.9 percent of high school graduates.
   Motivations
   Palacios said that is likely a result of the fact that many GED earners, especially older students who have spent time in the workforce, are more motivated to succeed than their counterparts.
   "The want a GED for lots of reasons," she said. "They may have been told by an employer that they need it, they may need it for a salary increase or promotion, or they may be tired of the work they're doing and want to retrain for a job that requires a GED."
   Kirby Slough, 40, enrolled in the Del Mar program 20 years after quitting Carroll High School. Slough dropped out so he could work and help his parents pay the bills. He says that in the late 1970s, the idea of dropping out was more acceptable than it is today, and he followed a group of friends out of school and into the world.
   "I was never into books much," he said. "I kind of got fed up with it."
   'You need a diploma'
   Over the past 20 years, he has come to regret that decision. The construction worker, who has also worked in farming and as a hydraulic technician, has seen his earning capacity cut short by his lack of education. "To get a high paying job you need a diploma," said the 20-year veteran of the workforce.
   His three children, aged 10, 17 and 19, are another incentive for him to change the decision he made as a high school junior.
   "I wanted to show them that I went back," he said, "so they won't drop out."


Staff writer Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 886-3779 or by e-mail at schwartzj@caller.com

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