As part of an initiative to lower the number of Kentucky adults without high school diplomas or geds, the state has developed a new mobile program that sends out teams throughout the Commonwealth to administer GED tests.

Kentucky Edition took a visit to Harlan County this week to talk to one of those teams and take a closer look at adult education gaps in the state.

We really wanted to address the barriers to the GED attainment goal, which was 3600 for fiscal year 25.

So brainstormed, and we came up with a new idea.

We didn't know how new it was, but it was to create mobile testing units multiple with multiple devices that could go across the Commonwealth to address some of those barriers.

What we found at the nearest test centers in some of these areas are 1 to 2 hours away.

And so what we're able to do is test any student that is ready, to obtain any parts of their GED.

We will travel to the area, set up our computers, and test students on site for us.

The testing deserts are defined if they're in remote locations where they have a lack of resources or Wi-Fi.

We also consider those to be our high need counties, where 50% or more of the population has less than a high school equivalency educator.

We meet students where they are.

This was just taking the show on the road, and we have two certified test administrators that can go with the units.

And we have ten units that can test ten students at one time.

But if the test comes to you, instead of you traveling 30 miles out of your way to your testing unit, it's a huge game changer.

Sometimes childcare, but mostly it's it's the issue sometimes of getting to Harlan or depending on, someone to take them and they don't show up to get them and drive them down.

So there's many different factors.

We do have the option that students can test online, but we don't have a dependable internet.

Or maybe they don't have a laptop.

Some people some students just have their phones in the test.

It's not sound friendly.

Those counties that have identified themselves as being a test desert is where we will go and set up, that process with that is with our partners, our local providers.

We provide them with the survey, and they fill out the survey and let us know what their needs are.

We provide them with the schedule, and then we will come and set up and test, just like we are here today at Harlan.

Typically our age ranges between 18 and 24, but this one, you know, some of these students have come out of the penal system and didn't obtain their GED where they were incarcerated.

There are four components to the GED.

Some of them have passed and just need one more to go.

We've had students to complete their GED with the mobile testing unit on a Monday, and graduation was on a Tuesday, so we get the instant success.

We had close to 60 last year, and we're hoping to double that this year.

You're so worth your education and continue it.

And getting earning that high school equivalency you you're not trying to make yourself better than someone.

You're trying to make you a better version of yourself.

And that's what it means.

It's an accomplishment, a huge and wonderful accomplishment when these students are on their journeys.

And it's something to be extremely proud of because the tests are not easy and they can be very proud of themselves.

And I'm over the moon when one of my students pass.

According to Doctor East, most of the mobile GED team's work has been done through rural communities in eastern and western Kentucky.