The Illinois Community College Board is planning to roll out several alternative ways people can earn their high school equivalency certificate other than passing a test.
The State Journal-Register reports that the board plans to offer the other methods by the fall of 2018 and get more people into the workforce pipeline.
Jennifer Foster is the board's deputy director for adult education and workforce. She says 1.2 million people in Illinois don't have a high school equivalency certificate, also called a GED. The GED is the most popular test taken to earn the certificate. But the number of people taking it in Illinois has fallen the last four years.
Foster says the alternatives will help people who might not be good test-takers to earn their certificate and potentially find work.