Late April 2022 marks one year since ETS HiSET announced that they would not renew their test offering in Texas for the next contract cycle. They stated 'a business decision' as the reason for not returning. In the months following that announcement, Tarrant Literacy Coalition staff doggedly pursued answers about why, especially when stakeholders around the state, and especially in Tarrant County, advocated tirelessly for test choice in the state from 2014-2016. Those answers, unfortunately, are unsatisfying.

As we discussed in parts one and two, Texas has both a dropout and prison epidemic. They each affect or are affected by the overall level of education in Texas. We want to shift focus to the economic impact of low educational attainment in both the nation and state. Most of the statistics we reference here compare individuals with less than a high school diploma or its equivalent (< HSD/E), with those who have a high school diploma or equivalent (HSD/E), to those with some college (SC), and those with a Bachelor's degree or higher (BD+).

 In part one, we wrote about how the number of adults taking and passing high school equivalency tests decreases because schools are doing a better job at ensuring children stay in school and complete their high school diplomas. We highlighted data that showed dropout rates are decreasing in Texas. However, the total number of dropouts is increasing as the population in the state increases. While the numbers show a shift towards a more positive outcome for youth, many adults still lack a diploma or equivalency certificate. One of the most concentrated populations suffering from low literacy is our incarcerated population.