(BOP) - This past summer, the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ activated its first computer-based GED testing center at the Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Pensacola. This project marked a historical change in the delivery of the General Education Development (GED) exam to federal inmates and initiated a change which will impact all BOP facilities. (Per 18 USC 3624, inmates without a high school diploma are expected to make progress in earning a GED in order to receive good conduct time towards service of their sentences.)
In order to undertake this effort, BOP staff have been working with GED Testing Services and Pearson VUE, the national GED Test Publisher, to develop a working solution which would comply with both BOP’s and Pearson VUE’s security requirements. In July, staff from FPC Pensacola, the BOP’s Computer Services Administration and User Support Branch, and the BOP’s Education Branch, were joined by GED Testing Services and Pearson VUE to witness the first BOP inmate testing candidate.
Since that time, testing centers at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Bastrop and Federal Medical Center (FMC) Rochester have been activated. By year’s end, the BOP anticipates activating three more computer-based GED testing centers. Long-term, computer-based GED testing will be available at every BOP facility.