A General Education Diploma (GED) is an option for those wanting to finish their high school education. A GED degree is taught at a tenth grade level and includes math, science, social studies and English. All four areas must be passed to get a GED. Some of these courses are online, and others are at a local school or community center. Most school districts offer GED programs for both teenagers and adults.
In some states, you also have the option to take the GED without any coursework being completed. After you receive your GED from the State Department of Education, it will be recorded as a high school diploma, and there are no markings distinguishing it is a GED.
The Job Corps is operated by the United States Department of Labor. The Job Corp offers both GED completion courses and technical trade options to students from age 16 to 24 years. A student must meet certain income guidelines to be accepted. Once accepted in the Job Corp, the student receives free room and board, GED completion courses, technical trade education and job placement. All of these services are provided at no charge. Some Job Corps have a contract with local junior colleges and offer some two-year associate's degrees. This is another option for those between 16 and 24 years of age wanting to complete their high school degree.
Some community colleges offer a high school completion program. These programs are usually free and are held at the college. Most people taking these courses are adults who plan to attend the junior college after high school completion. The student has the benefit of having professors teach the courses, and they also have access to a college campus atmosphere. Many students will continue their education because of the location of the high school completion course. The only disadvantage is that these high school completion courses are sometimes more difficult than a typical GED course. Check in your community to see if your local college has such a program.
For students who are computer literate, numerous online GED sites are available that will allow completion of a GED. Much research is required to make sure the sites are legitimate because some of the sites are merely trying to get money from unsuspecting Internet users.
A good valid site for GED online completion is the GED Academy (see Resources). This is a very useful site, offering online courses in the four areas of English, math, science and social studies. The benefit of an online course is that it can be completed at the convenience of the students in their own home. However, keep in mind that most of these sites do charge a fee for completion of a high school diploma.