Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Reports
Characteristics and Performance of High School Equivalency Exam Takers in New Jersey – August 2021
The New Jersey High School Equivalency report completed by the Regional Educational Lab Mid-Atlantic has been publicly released by the Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
The study addressed three research questions about exam takers who were grade 8 students in a New Jersey public school between 2008/09 and 2013/14 and attempted at least one HSE exam in New Jersey between March 2014 and December 2018:
- What are the demographic characteristics of exam takers, how do these characteristics compare across exams, and how do these characteristics compare with those of non–exam takers from the same cohorts?
- How did exam takers perform under the state’s original passing thresholds, and how did that performance vary by demographic and academic characteristics?
- How did passing rates change after NJDOE adopted the exam developers’ suggested passing thresholds, and how would passing rates change if NJDOE used the developers’ suggested college and career readiness thresholds as passing thresholds for the GED and HiSET?
- How do passing rates of exam takers with similar prior academic performance compare across exams?
The landing page to the report and related documents
The main report
The data below shows information on New Jersey passing rates, number of diplomas issued, and the comparison of passing rates among the three high school equivalency tests. As of 2021, data for the TASC and HiSET are not available.
| 2023 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 2604 | 1980 | 76% | 75% |
| 2022 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 1392 | 1050 | 75% | 75% |
| 2021 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 1051 | 828 | 79% | 76% |
| 2020 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 616 | 496 | 81% | 74% |
| HiSET | 551 | 423 | 77% | N/A |
| TASC | 1009 | 682 | 68% | N/A |
| Statewide | 1625 | 1178 | 77% | N/A |
| 2019 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 1224 | 1041 | 85% | 79% |
| HiSET | 1639 | 1242 | 76% | 79% |
| TASC | 3500 | 2480 | 71% | N/A |
| Statewide | 6082 | 4571 | 75% | N/A |
| 2018 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 812 | 503 | 62% | 75% |
| HiSET | 1595 | 1098 | 69% | 76% |
| TASC | 3475 | 2303 | 66% | N/A |
| Statewide | 5653 | 3766 | 67% | N/A |
| 2017 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 977 | 643 | 66% | 79% |
| HiSET | 1444 | 969 | 67% | 76% |
| TASC | 3902 | 2529 | 65% | N/A |
| Statewide | 6323 | 4141 | 65% | N/A |
| 2016 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 895 | 543 | 61% | 80% |
| HiSET | 1484 | 1002 | 68% | 77% |
| TASC | 4073 | 2724 | 67% | N/A |
| Statewide | 6452 | 4269 | 66% | N/A |
| 2015 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 698 | 457 | 65% | 79% |
| HiSET | 1278 | 732 | 57% | 74% |
| TASC | 4627 | 2918 | 63% | 60% |
| Statewide | 6603 | 4107 | 62% | N/A |
| 2014 Test | Total number of students who completed test battery | Total number of students who passed and earned a diploma | NJ Passing % | National Passing % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GED | 456 | 239 | 52% | 59% |
| HiSET | 1111 | 655 | 59% | 62% |
| TASC | 4002 | 2707 | 68% | Not Applicable (N/A) |
| Statewide | 5569 | 3601 | 65% | N/A |