What does this measure?

The number of students who transferred from a regular high school program to a GED program, as a percentage of their cohort. A GED program prepares students for the tests required to earn the General Educational Development credential, which certifies that a student has demonstrated a level of knowledge equal to or greater than 40% of graduating high school seniors. The cohort is the class of ninth–graders beginning high school together.

Why is this important?

A GED offers students who did not make it through high school a credential allowing them to pursue higher education and certain careers. While these figures do not show the number of students actually obtaining GEDs, they indicate how many students were pursuing this alternative path out of high school toward a productive future.

How are Cayuga and Seneca counties performing?

Seven percent of Cayuga’s class of 2010 transferred to a GED program, much higher than the 1% in Seneca, 2%–4% in comparison counties and 1% for the state (excluding NYC). Cayuga’s high rate was largely driven by the Auburn school district, where the number of GED students grew from 8 to 37 over the past several years. Rates in Seneca and statewide have been below 2% for the past several years.

Notes about the data

Data for earlier years were not comparable because cohorts were not tracked in the same way.