Summary: | This study was purposed to extract, collate, and statistically format data contained in
the national Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) Longitudinal Study: 1996-2001
database that pertained to persistence and attainment rates of GED recipients who began their
postsecondary education at a community college during the 1995-96 academic year. The
primary objective was to reckon the attrition rate of GED recipients during their first year of
enrollment (FY 1995-96), and to measure degree or certificate attainment rates of that
particular cohort of GED enrollees at the end of a 6-year study period (FY 2000-01).
Several significant findings related to the academic prowess and characteristics of a
cohort of GED students who enrolled in public 2-year educational institutions during the
BPS:1995-96 study period are presented in this study. One of those findings is that the
attrition rates of the GED recipients and the high school graduates who concurrently enrolled
full-time at community colleges during the 1995-96 academic year were closely proximate
by the end of their first year of enrollment (52.6% HS dropout rate versus 54.8% GED
dropout rate). Another interesting finding is that accumulated GPAs of GED recipients who
participated in the BPS:1996/2001 and who persisted through their first academic year as
full-time enrollees in community colleges were slightly higher than their counterpart
BPS:1996/2001 cohort of high school graduates who concurrently enrolled at community
colleges.
The statistical data reported in this study were garnered from a database administered
by the US Department of Education; however, because this study presents its findings in the
form of raw, unweighted data, it does not statistically reflect national representativeness. === Graduation date: 2004
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