The Characteristics of Incarcerated Youth With Successful GED Experiences
Gayle Y. Brown
December 2001
The purpose of this study was to determine if certain characteristics—highest grade
completed in public school, age when last attended public school, school attendance at a
juvenile facility, speech/language therapy, psychological counseling, grade retention,
head injuries, attention or concentration problems in school, unexplained sadness, or
hyperactivity—were correlational indicators of success or failure for incarcerated males
under the age of twenty-one in a correctional educational program in Maryland. A
sample of six completers and six non-completers of the GED examination were the
subjects in this study. The hypothesis was supported in that students who passed the
GED examination had no more or fewer of the selected characteristics than students who
did not pass the exam.