Record Numbers Take Ged

Record numbers of adults finished their high school education in 1996 by taking equivalency tests known as the GED - a year before tougher scoring standards were implemented, figures released Sunday show.

The American Council on Education, which runs the General Educational Development Tests, said 524,482 people earned their GED diploma last year, surpassing the previous record set in 1995.

A record 758,570 people took the battery of five tests, with Mississippi boasting the largest leap at 31 percent.

Created for soldiers returning from World War II, the GED equivalency accounts for one in seven high school diplomas awarded in this country. The average age of a test taker is 25 in the United States and 30 in Canada.