WHEN I was in school a well-meaning teacher thought it would be
an excellent idea to bus us teenage girls to a local prison each
week to volunteer. We tutored prisoners for the GED, an exam
taken by people who drop out of secondary school. It is widely
regarded as a high school equivalent. There exists a lot of
evidence that completing high school increases life-time
earnings. So drop-outs are often encouraged to take the GED.
(There are many government programmes that subsidise preparation
for the exam, especially for prison inmates.) The GED has grown
in popularity since its introduction nearly 70 years ago. It now
makes up about 12% of high-school certifications. But the GED is
not really a high-school equivalent. The performance of GED
takers on a scholastic achievement test may be similar to
someone who finished high school. But according to a new paper,
GED recipients do not earn more than drop-outs who don't take
the exam. The GED takers do have higher rates of college
matriculation, but most drop out