For decades, students across the country have participated in General Education Development (GED) programs as an alternative to earning a diploma by way of the traditional high school design, providing a path to a high school diploma for non-traditional students and those who drop out.

This week, earning a GED just got easier. GED Testing Service, the company that administers the test and offers GED programs for many states has lowered the score it takes to pass each subject area from 150 to 145.

Company officials announced the changes Tuesday, explaining that data shows students who took the GED test were being held to a higher academic standard than their counterparts in high school.

According to GED Testing Service spokesman CT Turner, a series of key data sets and studies reflected the true rigor and performance of adult students and GED program participants in recent years.

As a result, GED Testing Service officials also recommend that states grant a GED to students who have taken the test since Jan. 1, 2014, and scored at least 145 in each subject area.

Nationwide, some states like Mississippi have immediately adopted the lower test score, according to an email to community college educators by Sandy Crist, state director for Adult Education & High School Equivalency, Mississippi Community College Board.

“What this means for Mississippi: We will be issuing an additional 637 High School Equivalency Diplomas – grandfathering those students in from January 1, 2014,” Crist wrote in the email.

At the state’s East Mississippi Community College, Adult Basic Education Director Jim Bearden said his staff was scrambling to identify students who have passed all or portions of the test under the new guidelines. Bearden said his office has already identified eight students who have taken the test and now qualify to receive their diploma. There may be more.

On the GED test, students must earn a passing score of 145 in each of the following areas: Reasoning through Language Arts; Mathematical Reasoning; Science; and Social Studies. Students who earned a 145 or greater in any of the four test areas will not need to retake that portion of the test, Bearden said.

Two additional performance levels will be called GED College Ready, used to signify readiness to enter credit-bearing college courses; and GED College Ready + Credit, which may qualify students for up to ten hours of college credit. These performance levels will also apply retroactively to anyone who has taken a GED test since January 1, 2014.

“The pressing need right now is to get the word out so people who have passed part of the test will not be rescheduling to take that part again,” Bearden said. “We want students who have taken the test to review their account, so they don’t pay to retake a portion of the test if they do not need to do so.”

Nationwide, GED Testing Service officials estimate more than 25,000 adults will be eligible to receive their GED diploma under the new guidelines, and more than 100,000 now have a passing score in one or more GED test subject areas.

“The scoring enhancements are based on an extensive analysis of test-takers’ performance data from the past 18 months, conversations with state policymakers and elected officials, and external validation with experts,” GED Testing Service President Randy Trask said in a statement. “This is part of our ongoing commitment to make data-based decisions, and continually improve the efficacy of the GED program.”

Students who received a passing score under the new guidelines can expect to see their updated scores and information on their MyGED account on March 1. Students who have moved should update their address on their account. Bearden said the lower score requirement will make it easier for those who have struggled with the test.

“There are a lot of people who took the practice test and could not quite get over the hump, scoring a 147 or a 148,” Bearden said. “We want to encourage students who have been holding off, thinking they weren’t quite ready, to renew preparations to take the test now that the passing score has been lowered.”

“This is life-changing,” said Jennifer Whitlock, the director of adult education at Meridian Community College in Meridian, Mississippi, where several students were added to the GED graduation list this week.

“Our students know if they get their GED, it can mean something different — it will open up so many doors,” she said.

For students and former GED participants who have retroactively passed subject tests under the new lowered score standard, Turner said that correspondence indicating such will be provided to those new GED holders, allowing them to use the documentation as proof with employers or post-secondary education programs until account records reflect the update.

Back in Mississippi, Whitlock said one student was being considered for a job, but didn’t pass the test, and was discouraged. Under the new scoring system, he passed the test, placing him back in the running for the job.

While the GED scoring change means a new achievement and the possibility of new opportunities for many, thousands of adult learners and equivalency test takers remain unaffected. In fact, according to a recent NPR article, 21 states presently have adopted cheaper alternative tests — the TASC and HiSET — as the number of GED test takers has drastically declined since the implementation of the test’s newest 2014 adaptation.

The Meridian, Mississippi Star contributed details to this story.