How Many of Us Have GEDs Now

The Washington State Department of Corrections reported that in fiscal year 2024, approximately 1,847 incarcerated individuals earned a GED while in custody. The number does not include those who completed coursework but did not test, those who completed individual subject exams without finishing the full credential, or those who continued into post-secondary programs.

I was one of the 1,847 for one of those years, though not 2024. The number is bigger than I expected when I first heard it. The number is smaller than the population it serves.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics estimates that roughly 30% of state prison population enters custody without a high school credential. In Washington, with a state correctional population of approximately 13,500, that translates to around 4,000 incarcerated individuals who, on intake, do not have the credential that almost any job application requires.

Educational programming meets some, but not all, of that need. Class capacity is finite. Wait lists are real. Some facilities have stronger programs than others. Some men test out quickly; some men spend years working through the same arithmetic that a tenth grader would have learned in a month.

Some men test out quickly; some men spend years working through the same arithmetic that a tenth grader would have learned in a month.

What changes when you earn it: parole eligibility math, in some cases. Job placement, in many. Wages on the inside, occasionally. Self-image, almost always. The credential is small. The credential is also, for many of us, the first piece of paper we have ever held that said something good about us.