Table of Contents
GED Exam/Examinee Conceptual Overview
This conceptual overview will provide a summary of how Alberta Education obtains GED exam marks and how they are managed in PASI.
Introduction
GED® (General Educational Development) is for adults who left high school without a diploma.
Students who take and pass all five of the GED tests earn an Alberta High School Equivalency Diploma (Alternative 2). Prospective GED Writing Centres apply with GED Testing Services and Alberta Education's Exam Administration department to host exams.
The GED Tests are a set of five tests in the core high school curriculum areas of:
- Language Arts: Writing (GED9981)
- Social Studies (GED9982)
- Science (GED9983)
- Language Arts: Reading (GED9984)
- Mathematics (GED9985)
GED Examinees can create an account on GED.com or register with an approved writing centre before writing an exam. The writing centres are able to submit registrations (GED Exam Marks) in PASI before the student writes the exam.
After the exams are written they are distributed back to GED Testing Services. GED Testing Services creates an XML file which contain marks and demographic information. The files are stored in a secure FTP location for processing by Student Records. Student Records staff uploads the file using PASIprep.
GED Examinee Processing
At a high level, the following is the algorithm used to process a GED Exam Mark file loaded by the Load GED Exam Marks page:
| Step | What is Done |
|---|---|
| 1 | Perform the Structure Checks. If any fail, then stop processing the file and report using the File Errors grid on the Step 1 page. |
| 2 | Perform the Data Validation Error checks. If any fail, then stop processing the file and report using the File Errors grid on the Step 1 page |
| 3 | As the file is processed, for each GED Examinee that only has a <MACode> of “D” in the file do the following:
|
| 4 | As the file is processed, for each GED Examinee that only has a <MACode> of “A” or has a “D” followed later on with “A” in the file do the following:
For each <Test> on the examinee in the file a corresponding mark on the examinee is either created or updated if needed.
|
Examinee identification and mapping
Exam marks that are manually entered in PASIprep (or a product of data conversion) are linked to an 'Anonymous Examinee'. Anonymous Examinees do not have an Examinee ID. Once a student is mapped to an anonymous examinee, any new marks added via PASIprep are also linked to the same. A student is never linked to more than one anonymous examinee.
When a file is loaded, an 'Identified Examinee' is created. GED XML files will always contain Examinee ID's and the XML file is the source of truth for these unique ID's.
A PASI student can be linked to multiple unique Examinee IDs. However, it is more common for the GED file to contain instructions on when to delete exam marks associated to an old Examinee ID, and add them to the new Examinee ID.
Examinee Mapping Logic
The following table outlines the logic used to identify the correct GED Examinee record. Even if the a GED Examinee record already exists for the Examinee ID, the mapping of that Examinee ID against an ASN needs to be validated. A GED Examinee record contains demographic information which is updated by the <Demographic> related elements in the file.
| Source Examinee ID | Submitted ASN, First Name, Last Name, DOB | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Matches an existing GED Examinee record | Matches the existing GED Examinee record | If something has changed, update the GED Examinee record and keep the Mapped ASN |
| Does not match an existing GED Examinee record | Determine the Mapped ASN (see section below). Create a new GED Examinee record. | |
| Does not match an existing GED Examinee record} | N/A | Determine the Mapped ASN (see section below). Create a new GED Examinee record. |
Notes:
- A GED File may contain more than one set of Demographic information for an Examinee. Only the most recent set (most current <InfoDate> on the <Demographic> object in the XML File) of information is used (and recorded in PASI).
- The Source Examinee refers to the GEDTSExamineeID supplied in the file.
ASN Mapping Logic
Once the correct Examinee record is determined, it must be mapped to an ASN. Examinees that are already mapped to an ASN are always verified.
| Submitted ASN | First Name, Last Name, DOB | Action |
|---|---|---|
| The ASN exists in PASI | Are provided and match the Student Identification record | Use the Submitted ASN as the ASN identified for mapping |
| Are not provided or do not match the Student Identification record | There is no identified ASN | |
| The ASN does not exist in PASI | Are provided and Identify Student finds one and only one primary ASN that is a high quality match | Use the ASN from Identify Student as the ASN identified for mapping |
| Are not provided or Identify Student does not find one and only one primary ASN that is a high quality match | There is no identified ASN |
Notes:
- The Submitted ASN refers to the IDNumber supplied in the file
- The Mapped ASN refers to the ASN that is currently mapped to the Examinee
Exam mark transactions
The GED XML file contains one or more maintenance codes (MACodes) for an Examinee record. An MACode value is either 'A' for “add” or 'D' for “delete”.
In most cases two MACode's will appear for a unique Examinee record. The first will be a 'D' (a request to delete every exam mark associated to an Examinee) and the second will be an 'A' (a request to add, from scratch, all the newly stated exam mark records for the student). In this primary scenario it is common to see the same marks added as were deleted. Rather than adding and deleting the same exam marks, the exam mark records are compared. If they are exactly the same, then they remain on the record without actually being updated. The only time they are actually updated is when the Examinee record itself has been updated (see Examinee Mapping logic above).
If an MACode of D is submitted for an Examinee and is not followed or succeeded by an A for the same Examinee, then all of the exam marks on that Examinee are logically deleted.
If an MACode of A is submitted for an Examinee and is not followed or succeeded by an D for the same Examinee, then all of the newly stated exam marks are added. Duplicates are prevented by Rule 40626. However, if only an MACode of A is found and there are no exam marks associated to the Examinee in the file, then all the existing exam marks associated to that Examinee in PASI are deleted.
Related Wiki Pages
| Business Objects | Business Process Models | Terminology |
|---|---|---|
| Official Mark Calculator | PASI Core Services | PASIprep |