2015 Urban Affairs Association Conference

The nation is facing a crisis with nearly 4 million unfilled jobs due to unqualified candidates to secure specific occupational duties. According to the 2010 U.S. Census data, the state of New Jersey is aiding the crisis. There are approximately 1.1 million high school dropouts living in New Jersey, which is more than 12.3 percent of New Jersey’s population. This means that millions of citizens residing in New Jersey lack the skills and knowledge these jobs require to succeed in the job market of today. Over the years, research has illustrated that the General Education Development Test (GED) is becoming more and more popular amongst teenagers who drop out of New Jersey public high schools. The reasons why youth are opting out of high school into GED programs or alternative schools can be perceived as a community development problem. It could be that urban public school personnel did not properly inform students of the GED program or alternative school option before shifting them out. Other suggestions may reveal that youth are unaware of how human resource managers could scrutinize their GED education prior to securing employment. Some may also say youth are unaware of certain senior university’s strict policies that require GED students to graduate from a junior college first, before entering into the senior university. These misconceptions amongst youth about the GED test may be due to some organizational issues within the public school district. If so, research could potentially lead to a revision within the urban public school districts, not the GED test.