Rush is on to take GED before changes

FRANKLIN, Ind. (AP) - Big changes are coming for the GED tests. The exam will get harder and more expensive starting Jan. 1. GED instructors are urging people to sign up now.

Kimaya Roberts took control and signed up for GED classes. Two weeks ago she took the two-day test and passed.

“You really do need it. Without a high school diploma or a GED it's very hard to get a job,” said Kimaya Roberts, who just passed the exam.

Getting a GED diploma is a process and in 2014 the test will change drastically.

“If they're in course work right now to get them prepared for the GED they really need to go ahead and finish up that course work and take the test before the end of the year,” said Joe Frank, a spokesman for the Department of Workforce Development.

Joe Frank explains the revamped test was done to help prepare adult students for college. The new exam will be taken online, there will be 4 sections instead of 5 and the price will jump from $70 to $120.

Colby Hill, who organizes adult classes at the Martin Luther King Community Center, says some of the changes are too extreme.

“A lot of them lack computer skills or even just a working knowledge of computers. Computers are expensive so when dealing with certain demographics people simply can't afford a computer,” Hill said.

The countdown in the classroom at Martin Luther King Community Center is listed daily. It serves as a reminder to students that the new exam is right around the corner.

“The great thing about the test currently is that whatever section of the test you pass you get to keep that score and take the remaining portions of the test. Next year that won't be the case,” Hill said.

The center has seen a 40 percent increase in students interested in taking the exam since the changes were announced, Hill said. Martin Luther King Community Center offers classes and the exam for free.