Success rates of GED credential recipients and high school graduates: a comparative study of Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College students

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there was a statistically significant difference in collegiate success rates of GED credential recipients and high school graduates in community colleges. Data obtained from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) PeopleSoft system at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKCTC) were used. The specific research questions investigated were as follows: 1. Is there a significant difference in academic success in the community college as measured by overall grade point average (GPA) of GED credential recipients as compared to high school graduates? 2. Is there a significant difference in academic success between GED credential recipients and high school graduates as it relates to gender? 3. Is there a significant difference in academic success between GED credential recipients and high school graduates as it relates to age? SPSS version 14.0 was used in this research study. Cross tabulations were performed for each question. Group statistics were computed for the data providing the means, standard deviation, and standard error of the mean for each research question. Independent sample tests were also performed, including Levene’s test for equality of variances and t-tests for equality of means. The findings of the study indicate that there was a statistically significant difference in student success rates comparing GED credential recipients and high school graduates. High school graduates had a mean GPA that was 0.368 points higher than that of GED credential students. In addition, there was little difference in GPAs between male and female students. Males had an average mean GPA that was 0.009 points lower than that of female students. Finally, the age of students had a significant influence on overall GPA. The researcher determined that for each year increase in age, there was an increase of 0.018 in GPA