I want to address a flaw in funding plans for public education.

Believe it or not, no, I am not talking about public schools getting additional funding based on test scores of their students. Instead, I am talking about GED classes.

I failed highschool for reasons unrelated to acedemics. I scored very high on all tests given. I had to work full time, and to be fair, my electric bill is more important than two hours of trig homework (I still hate that teacher).

Anyway, I have finally found the time to get my GED and never worry about this issue ever again. Problem is that I had no idea how to go about it. So I googled it. I found the number for a local testing facility. And I talk to a receptionist, and I get the most confusing speech I have ever been given in my life. I'm told that it will cost me over $250 to do all my tests, and that if I don't pay to do a practice test prior (another $50) that they can just refuse to allow me to outright. I can't afford that. Like, half the reason I am doing this is so I can have more money. She then tells me that to ensure that I get what I want, I need to attend classes at one of the state funded and approved GED/adult education facilities, and that my local one was at the highschool during evenenings. She then explains that taking these classes is entirely free, and after I log so many hours, I get a discount that makes the whole testing process under $50. This is something I can handle.

So I go to my class orientation, and take a short assessment to determine at what overall level I am, so they know what help I will need, and all that jazz. Day two, we are given one of four testing booklets, numbered 1 to 4. 1 being a near identical test to the GED. 4 being for people that can barely speak English. They give me the Number 1.

Fast forward. I attend the first actual class. We are reviewing fractions and decimals. Super simple stuff. However, during a break, my teacher pulls me aside and asks me what I am doing there. I tell them I don't understand the question. And well, I suppose the easiest way to explain what follows will be the description I sent my father after I finished class that day.

"I'm getting kicked out of my GED classes because when the state assesses the classes performance, they go off of how much higher your final assessment score is than your original, then they take the average for the year, and base the funding off of the overall improvement of students in the classes. I got 100%. As in I left no room for improvement. So my final assessment would improve by 0%, and if for some reason I made any error, it would register as a negative score.

So imagine having ten or so students over a three month period all improve by 10%-20%, and then one guy skew the whole thing by flopping in a fat 0%. I am that 0%."

So, I lost out of a highschool diploma because the public educational system would not accomidate me as an individual. And now? I'm getting denied the ability to get my GED because I can't afford a $300 upfront cost at all.

I actually can't even express my hatred and frustration for this system.

Submitted February 13, 2018 at 03:11AM by Alastor-Absol http://ift.tt/2BWOLE8