Fewer Taking the GED

I don't see the story here as the fact that the test is harder (it really was too simple before) but that in a tough economy where fewer are finishing high school, that it's disturbing to see GED rates drop off.

The new high school equivalency examination, which demands more analysis and has fewer multiple-choice answers, drew fewer participants in its first year, but they passed at a slightly higher rate than in the past, a review has found.

The number who took the General Educational Development program, or GED, dropped 43.6 percent in 2002, the first full year of the new test series, according to the GED Testing Service report released Monday. It said many GED candidates had rushed to take the old test before new standards were implemented.

Remember: dumb kids present a national security challenge, too. They're our future.