From 2010 to 2017, the number of students taking the test fell by 40 percent, from 47,187 to 28,387. The number of students who passed the high school equivalency exam fell by 49 percent

This report documents the 2016 high school equivalency testing and passing rates of 49 states and the District of Columbia. The Center for an Urban Future combined testing and passing data for all three major HSE publishers: the Educational Testing Service (publisher of HiSET), DRC (publisher of TASC), and the GED Testing Service. The Center then filled out the gaps in this data by contacting adult education directors in several states for the relevant data points. Oklahoma did not respond, but all other states provided the requested data.

Among the key findings:

HSE attainment has improved since 2014, but remains far below pre-TASC levels. 

• The number of students taking the HSE exam has increased for three years in a row, rising from 25,826 in 2014 to 28,387 in 2017—a 10 percent increase. 
• In the two years of new data since the Center’s "Taking to TASC" report, both HSE taking and passing rose slightly. The number of students taking an HSE examination rose by 9 percent while the number passing the exam rose by 7 percent. 
• The number of passers declined between 2016 and 2017, even as the number of test takers rose, leading to a drop in the pass rate from 53 percent in 2015 to 51 percent in 2017.
• From 2010 to 2017, the number of students taking the test fell by 40 percent, from 47,187 to 28,387.  The number of students who passed the HSE exam fell by 49 percent, from 28,077 to 14,419.

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