New GED test questions to reflect the CCSS

Traditional kindergartners through twelfth-graders will not be the only students affected by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Nontraditional learners, such as adults who never earned a high school diploma, will also encounter the CCSS if they take the GED test after January 2014.

The GED Testing Service plans to revamp its assessment for those who wish to show they have acquired essential secondary school skills and continue learning at higher levels. According to the GED Testing Service's website, the updated exam will better measure students' level of college and career readiness.

Among the revisions to the GED will be questions that better reflect the CCSS that K-12 students will follow in 45 states and the District of Columbia, according to a Kaplan Test Prep press release. For this reason, those who plan to take the assessment may want to brush up on some of the material covered under the Standards for English language arts and mathematics. This, in turn, could set them up for career success.

"In today's competitive, global work environment, having a high school diploma or equivalent is an employment imperative for individuals, and having a high school-educated population is an imperative for our economy to thrive," said Lee Weiss, Kaplan's executive director of GED programs.