From Soldiers to Students: The Tests of General Educational Development (GED) as Diplomatic Measurement. Issue 4 (13th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hutt, Ethan L.; Stevens, Mitchell L.
• Is Part Of: Social science history. Volume 41:Issue 4(2017)
• Page Start: 731
• Page End: 755
• Publication Date: 2017-10-13
• Subjects: Social sciences -- Periodicals; Social sciences; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 300.9
• DOI: 10.1017/ssh.2017.25
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0145-5532

Abstract

Abstract : The GI Bill's college-attendance provisions posed an evaluation problem. How would returning veterans, most of whom were without high school diplomas, be judged fit for college? Drawing from a variety of primary source material from the years surrounding the close of World War II, we show how leaders in government, the military, and academia cooperated to produce a measure of college fitness that would deem virtually all veterans fit for college entry. We use this historical moment to develop a novel theoretical insight. Measurement is diplomatic when it facilitates transactions across institutional distinctions while recognizing and honoring those distinctions. This insight has broad utility for students of American political development.