Beginning Jan. 2, the company that administers the General Educational Development test will jettison the paper-and-pencil exams and the multiple-choice questions that rely on rote memorization. Instead, adult learners will have to demonstrate computer and critical-thinking skills in a series of online assessments covering literacy, math, science and social studies.

The new exam has been updated and improved four times over the years, but this latest upgrade is being touted by GED executives as the most significant and far-reaching.

“GED Testing Service has built a new comprehensive program — not just a new test — that will ensure that adults have the skills they need to be prepared for jobs and also for essential college and career programs,” said company President Randy Trask.

In addition to the change in format, the 2014 test will be aligned with the more rigorous math and English standards taking effect next fall at public schools around the country. Testing officials said they wanted to ensure the GED certificate carries the same value in every state while remaining on par with the diplomas being awarded to today’s high school graduates.

The overhauled GED also includes a new scoring system that helps adult learners determine whether they’re ready to enroll in college-level courses or pursue training for a higher-level job.

Despite the improvements, its $120 cost will be significantly less for most California test-takers, many of whom had to pay $200 or more, depending on the school district where they took the test.

Districts like Los Angeles Unified, where GED preparation classes are a key component of Adult Education programs, are beefing up their lessons so students will be ready to take the more rigorous equivalency exams.

“We know that the new GED is based on the Common Core, and we have been working on revising our curriculum, including the GED preparation course,” said Monica Balbuena, who has been chief examiner at the district’s GED testing center for six years. “We are reviewing new preparation material and software that will allow our students training to prepare for a computerized assessment.”

Linda Bardere, a spokesman for San Bernardino City Unified, said the district has added a basic computer class to its curriculum so that adult learners will be prepared for the test.

The GED was launched in 1942 by the nonprofit American Council on Education to help returning World War II veterans jump-start their careers. It evolved over the years to become a lifeline for highs-school dropouts, with some 800,000 adult learners nationwide taking the test each year.

In March 2011, ACE announced a partnership with educational publishing giant Pearson, launching GED Testing Service as a for-profit enterprise. Pearson is now in charge of administering the GED, which can only be given at computer centers authorized by its Pearson Vue division.

“ACE had a long-term vision of online testing but didn’t have the resources,” GED spokesman Armando Diaz said. “Pearson is on board with this vision, and brings the network and expertise in computer-based testing.”

Under the new system, the GED can be administered only at computer testing sites certified through Pearson Vue.

San Bernardino City Unified has registered to become a Pearson Vue center, and there are other testing facilities in Baldwin Park, Cerritos, El Monte, La Puente, Riverside, Rowland Heights, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Lancaster and Palmdale.

But Los Angeles Unified said it has no plans to seek certification as a Pearson Vue center, although it administered the outgoing equivalency test. Instead, it is waiting for the state Department of Education to adopt another equivalency certificate provider in the hope of continuing its paper-and-pencil option.

“A paper-and-pencil format maximizes the number of locations and the number of test administrations the district can provide,” Balbuena said. “Computerized testing reduces the opportunity for the students to take the exam because the infrastructure in not available to support it at current testing locations. It also compromises the students’ ability to demonstrate their skill set when they are not comfortable with the computer and lack the keyboarding skills needed to write an essay.”

State regulators say they are reviewing other equivalency vendors, such as CTB McGraw-Hill, and hope to have an alternate exam approved by March.

GED officials, meanwhile, say that a pilot of the computer-based tests showed that students finished faster, passed at higher rates and were more likely to retake a failed test. They insist that basic computer skills are critical to succeeding in the workforce.

And unlike the outgoing system, students can take the battery of tests at their own pace, with a pay-as-you-go option, which GED officials said resulted in significantly higher scores when the program was piloted.

GED Testing Service spokesman CT Turner said more than 700 people nationwide have already signed up to take the new test.

“Nearly 80 percent of the vacant jobs in California demand skills beyond a GED or high school diploma,” Turner said. “There’s a gap of over 100,000 jobs sitting vacant because people don’t have the education level to fill them. We have to make sure that our adult students are successful. We don’t have a choice.”

Fifth-graders at Western Avenue Elementary in South L.A. were downloading apps and creating multimedia presentations.

An eighth-grade English class at Paul Revere Charter Middle School on the Westside was mapping Huck Finn’s route along the Mississippi River.

At ArTES Academy in San Fernando, high school students were taking notes in English Lit, graphing equations in chemistry and dreaming up fantasy 3-D flowers in graphic design class.

“It’s really about creating learning opportunities and making all learning more accessible,” John Lawler, the principal at the Art, Theatre, Entertainment School, said during a campus tour. “It’s also about letting them find something really amazing.”

In the three months since the launch of the district’s $1 billion Common Core Technology Project, most of the public’s attention has been focused on technical and administrative problems that have cropped up during the rollout.

Some 300 students at three high schools erased digital safeguards and browsed unauthorized websites, prompting Superintendent John Deasy to impose a moratorium on taking the devices home. Three of the 47 schools in Phase 1 — Muir, Palms and Webster Middle schools — don’t even want the iPads on campus until security issues are resolved.

Kids at the Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences in Granada Hills are limited to using their iPads only during home room because of persistent sign-on problems with about 30 of the tablets. The district is trying to resolve that issue, even as it works to come up with tougher security features for all of the devices.

Those problems, plus concerns about the cost and scope of the project, prompted the Bond Oversight Committee to recommend last week that the school board slash $90 million in equipment from the $135 million plan for Phase 2. The board is set to vote Dec. 10 on that proposal.

But Lawler and several other officials working at the ground level of the iPad rollout say the lessons learned from those problems should be used to help shape — not delay — its future.

“We’re using the iPads all day, every day,” Lawler said. “We’re figuring it out, and designing as we go.”

Stored on carts in ArTES classrooms, the iPads are checked out by students at the start of their morning advisory period and returned at day’s end, a process that takes about 10 minutes.

Like their students, the educators at ArTES have varying levels of comfort and experience with the tablets.

“I don’t know how to use it as well as my students, and I’m not far enough ahead of them to be able to think about apps and projects and advanced learning,” said English teacher Allison Conant.

In another classroom, teacher Laura Jaeggi had her English Literature class download “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” onto their iPads, which they then used to take notes and quickly look up unfamiliar words during a lively discussion of T.S. Eliot’s dramatic monologue.

“When there’s more accessibility, there’s more willingness to engage and become part of the conversation,” Jaeggi said later. “They’re not just looking at words on a page but having a real-life experience.”

The graphic arts students in Noah Massey’s class created imaginary blossoms in rainbow hues, which they displayed from every angle, thanks to the 3-D capability of the iPad.

“Most of these students probably won’t go on to have an art career, but we’re teaching them 21st century skills like flexibility and creativity and how to adapt and collaborate,” Lawler said. “Those are the skills they need for college or a job.”

Fern Somoza, the principal at Paul Revere Middle School, figured out a way to distribute iPads to about one-third of the students at the middle school, based on the configuration of their classrooms. The rest of the kids won’t get their devices until the district decides it’s OK for the iPads to be taken home — a decision she hopes will come by February.

“You have to start somewhere and give them the opportunity to start somewhere because this is the future — excuse me, this is now,” Somoza told the Bond Oversight Committee last week. “My students are ready to go, and the teachers are, too.”

iPads are slowly being reintroduced at Roosevelt High, which temporarily took away all 2,000 devices after dozens of its students were involved in the security breach. For now, only English classes are using the tablets, although officials hope to expand to other subjects by year’s end.

ArTES was part of last year’s pilot test of the iPads and is also is one of the program’s Phase 1 schools. That early experience has made Lawler the go-to guy for help on iPad apps and teacher training, and he also appeared last week on a district-sponsored TV show to tout the success of the technology program.

One of his primarily messages is to teach students digital citizenship — to take responsibility for their online activities — and to allow them to participate in the learning revolution.

“Education has to move at the same speed as innovation,” he said. “It’s not about teaching specific skills as much as abilities.”

During a news conference at LAUSD headquarters, just moments after Berndt was sentenced to 25 years in prison, Deasy said he was thankful that Berndt’s no-contest plea ended the criminal case and spared the youngsters from having to testify.

“I for one am sorry we had to go through this,” he said. “I represent the LAUSD family and my heartfelt apology is offered to all of us for the pain that we have endured these last two years.”

Deasy said the district will continue its efforts to settle the scores of claims and lawsuits filed by former students of Berndt and their families. LAUSD has settled 63 cases for $29.5 million, but claims by 71 students and about 65 parents are pending.

Berndt was arrested in January 2012, after a year-long investigation triggered by the discovery of disturbing photographs showing him with blindfolded and gagged children. Los Angeles Unified took steps to fire Berndt, and eventually paid him $40,000 to drop the appeal of his termination.

The difficulty and expense of firing a teacher charged with molesting nearly two dozen students prompted Deasy and the school board to push for legislation that would make it easier to terminate educators accused of misconduct.

The superintendent spoke angrily about efforts by the California Teachers Association and other unions to block efforts to streamline the process, and called for “wholesale changes to the laws that protect students first.”

“I’m not interested in adjusting or tweaking current laws so adult constituencies can feel comfortable,” he said. “Really? Really? You’re not comfortable with those changes? You feel discomfort? Come with me and spend time with some of the victims in Miramonte … That’s discomfort.”

Deasy joined the district as deputy superintendent in June 2010, and took over as schools chief in April 2011, some nine months before Berndt’s arrest brought the allegations against him to light.

The case triggered a flood of allegations and hundred of other teachers were removed from the classroom as Deasy ordered a zero-tolerance policy for suspected misconduct. Officials said last month that 237 educators had quit or been fired since Miramonte, although they could not determine how many had been accused of inappropriate behavior with students.

The district has adopted other measures in the wake of Miramonte, including a policy that parents be notified within 72 hours of employee misconduct.

The emotional courtroom statements by the parents of some of his victims capped an hour-long hearing downtown, where Berndt, of Torrance, admitted to charges of lewd conduct with unwitting youngsters, feeding them his semen by the spoonful and on cookies during a “tasting game,” and putting cockroaches on their faces.

“He is a perverse animal and I want justice to be done,” said one mother of two girls, weeping as she read a statement to the court. “He robbed my daughters of their innocence and of their childhoods … My daughters were going to school to learn and to study, not to learn the kinds of things that were done to them.”

Manny Medrano, Berndt’s attorney, said the formerly well-regarded third-grade teacher was “profoundly sorry, profoundly remorseful” for his actions and that he “readily admits” to the 23 counts of lewd conduct upon a child.

Medrano said Berndt agreed to change his plea from not guilty to no contest so that his young victims would not have to endure the trauma of having to testify during a preliminary hearing or trial.

“The last thing Mr. Berndt wanted to see was 23 victims have to walk the 30 feet” to the witness stand, Medrano said.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George Lomeli said the 25-year sentence reached in a plea deal with prosecutors likely means that Berndt, 62, will spend the rest of his life behind bars. He was given credit for more than 700 days already spent in jail and must serve at least 85 percent of his term before being eligible for parole. Had he been tried and convicted on all charges, Berndt could have been sentenced to 345 years in prison, officials said.

Prosecutor Alison Meyers, with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, went through the 23 counts one by one, giving the first name of the victim, the years the abuse took place and asking Berndt how he pleaded.

“No contest,” he said 23 times.

According to the charges, most of the cases covered incidents that spanned 2009-11, although some occurred in 2005. Berndt was arrested in January 2012, after an investigation that spanned more than a year.

More than 40 parents packed the courtroom along with attorneys for dozens of families who are suing Los Angeles Unified, claiming that district officials failed to protect their children. The district has paid nearly $30 million, and racked up some $2.5 million in legal fees to settle 63 cases, The cases of 71 students and about 65 parents remain unresolved.

Gaunt in his orange jail jumpsuit, Berndt sat stoically, his eyes straight ahead, as five of the mothers addressed the court from a lectern set up in the spectators’ section.

“The impact this has caused on my family has been devastation,” one mom said, reading from a piece of notebook paper. “I wake up every morning and ask God to give me the strength to explain this to my daughter. How do I explain to a 9-year-old why one of her favorite teachers would do this to her?”

Another, crying so hard she had to be supported by her husband, chastised LAUSD officials.

“Innocence is the most wonderful thing a person could have,” she said. “How could the district not notice a thing like this?”

“Thank you, ma’am, and I’m sorry,” Lomeli said.

The mother of three victims discounted Berndt’s apology, and said Berndt deserved to be burned at the stake. She asked Lomeli to sentence him to more than 25 years, something the judge said he was unable to do because of the plea agreement.

During a news conference after the hearing, Meyers said that prosecutors were satisfied they had obtained the best possible outcome.

“It is always our goal to get the most appropriate punishment for the conduct, and I believe we did that in this case, and we were able to do that without having to bring the children to testify.”

Medrano spoke as well, reiterating that Berndt had owned up to his misconduct.

“It’s unclear to me why he did what he did,” said Medrano, a former federal prosecutor and TV reporter and commentator. “The key thing is that he has accepted responsibility. As of today, this chapter is over.”

Lawyers involved in the civil cases also spoke to reporters, saying they will use DNA and other evidence that was part of Berndt’s criminal case in their legal battle against the school district.

“The final chapter in Miramonte is not going to be written until the Los Angeles Unified School District is held accountable in a civil court for allowing and permitting and facilitating Mr. Berndt to run rampant torturing kids in Miramonte for over 20 years,” said attorney Brian Claypool, who represents 13 children and 21 parents.

He called Berndt a “serial child predator,” and said attorneys have determined that complaints about him were filed as far back as 1994, and that school officials knew in 1990 that Berndt was behaving inappropriately with students.

Another attorney, John Manly, took issue with statements by Medrano that Berndt hadn’t physically violated his students.

“Feeding your semen to a child and putting huge cockroaches on them and blindfolding them is molestation,” Manly said. “It’s the worst kind of molestation. And to call it something else strikes me as wrongheaded and, frankly, sickening.”

Authorities began investigating Berndt in December 2010 after a CVS photo processor in Redondo Beach developed film that Berndt brought in and discovered pictures of children blindfolded and with their mouths taped shut. The district pulled from the classroom and took steps to fire him, eventually paying him $40,000 to drop the appeal of his termination.

During a news conference Friday, shortly after the hearing ended, Superintendent John Deasy said the money paid to Berndt could be better spent helping the victims of his abuse.

“I want our $40,000 back,” Deasy said. “I want our $40,000 returned so we can spend it on hiring more counselors to join the already amazing group of individuals who have been working with the victims of this depraved individual.”

The Nation’s Report Card shows that 33 percent of fourth-graders in the Golden State scored at or above the proficient level in math, and only 27 percent hit that mark on reading tests.

Among California’s eighth-graders, the numbers were 28 percent in math and 29 percent in reading.

Those scores were well below the nationwide average, in which 42 percent of fourth-graders and 35 percent of eighth-graders are proficient in math, 35 percent of fourth graders and 36 percent of eighth-graders measure up in reading.

The results come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, which is given every two years to a sample of fourth- and eighth-graders.

Nationwide, this year’s results, compared with those in 2011, show average incremental gains of about one or two points on a 500-point scale.

Still, California’s eighth-graders made the biggest gain in reading scores in the country, jumping from 255 to 262, according to the report. Their math scores increased by three points, to 276.

Fourth-grade reading scores edged up two points to 213 in California, while math scores remained static at 234.

Although California ranked 45th in the country on the tests, state schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson put a positive spin on the results.

“The resilience and tenacity of our schools have seen them through some challenging years, and I’m glad to see this validation of the hard work of educators, students and their families,” Torlakson said in a statement. “These scores are another sign that we are moving in the right direction to prepare students for college and career, but we still have a lot of work to do to make sure every student graduates equipped to succeed.”

The release comes as a new era in education unfolds. President W. Bush’s landmark education law No Child Left Behind, which sought to close achievement gaps among racial groups and have every student doing math and reading at grade level by 2014, has essentially been dismantled.

After Congress failed to update the law before it was due for renewal in 2007, President Barack Obama allowed states to receive waivers if they showed they have their own plans to prepare students. Most states took him up on the offer, but California did not.

However, Los Angeles and Long Beach Unified are part of a consortium of eight California school districts that separately won a waiver from No Child. That move will free up $150 million in federal money the districts can use to educate low-income students and create new benchmarks for gauging their success.

In the meantime, a majority of states are rolling out Common Core State Standards, with the goal of better preparing the nation’s students for college or a job. The standards establish more uniform benchmarks for reading and math and replace goals that varied widely between the states.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Speaking at an event in Hollywood, Garcetti said he was “disheartened” to read newspaper stories about Deasy’s possible resignation. “He is a friend and (someone) whose work I support,” Garcetti said.

Garcetti said he had talked to many individuals at the school district, and called Deasy’s exit “an evolving story.” If there is turnover, Garcetti said, he will ensure that the next superintendent isn’t “micromanaged” by the school board. Though when asked by a reporter directly if he was saying the current board is micromanaging Deasy, Garcetti said “Those are your words.”

Deasy, who was hired in 2011, has increasingly clashed with the school board — after its composition changed with this year’s election and members chose Richard Vladovic as president — over issues such as the budget, implementation of Common Core and the rollout of a new iPad program.

Addressing the role of the seven-member school board, Garcetti told reporters: “A board is there to set policy, is there to guide the direction. But at the end of the day, they are not the ones who are supposed to run the district. That’s supposed to be the superintendent.”

The comments were the latest salvo in the deteriorating relationships between some board members and Deasy.

Deasy has told some board members that he plans to resign, according to source close to the board. But the superintendent, who took the job in 2011, hasn’t publicly stated whether he will leave or not, only saying that he has not submitted a letter of resignation.

At Friday’s event, Garcetti praised Deasy’s work, citing lowered absentee rates and improved test scores. The mayor also warned that a loss of leadership could be disruptive.

“I think the adults at the school district, across the board, need to remember that there are kids who (will be) the collateral damage to any loss of leadership, any loss of momentum, and any dysfunction and fighting.”

“If there is a transition, it’s important that we not lose the momentum, and for us to make sure we have a board that’s focused on results, not politics. … All of us who are in government know, we have to let our managers manage and that is critically important.”

Contacted at home Thursday night, Deasy refused to confirm or deny the report.

“I have not submitted a letter of resignation,” Deasy said, refusing to comment further.

Under Deasy’s $330,000-a-year contract, he can resign or be terminated with just 30 days’ notice.

Deasy’s contract was up for renewal in November, and the district source said it was widely expected that the superintendent would be retained for another year, despite well-publicized problems with the rollout of the $1 billion iPad program and growing resistance from the board over pursuing some of his key reforms.

Deasy apparently did not speak with all board members directly on Thursday.

“I’m shocked,” said Monica Ratliff, the newest member of the board, who said she had not heard the news from Deasy himself.

Board member Steve Zimmer said he had not spoken with Deasy and had no direct knowledge of the superintendent’s desire to leave the district. He also said he didn’t always agree with Deasy but remained confident in his ability to lead the district.

Other board members declined to comment or could not be reached.

Deasy had the support of a board majority during much of his tenure as superintendent. That changed this spring, when one of his most outspoken advocates left the board and was replaced by Ratliff, who has said she supports Deasy but has raised questions about many of his policies.

Deasy also clashed philosophically with board member Richard Vladovic, the South Bay representative who was elected president in July. Deasy reportedly threatened at the time to quit if Vladovic was chosen to head the board but didn’t follow through at the time.

The two men have said publicly they have been trying to mend their relationship, even meeting earlier this month with Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Deasy and Vladovic had also been meeting regularly at a coffee shop near Vladovic’s home in San Pedro to discuss district business. During an early morning event on Thursday in Woodland Hills, Deasy said his next stop was a meeting with Vladovic.

But the board’s new direction has also affected other high-ranking officials. Deasy’s number two, deputy superintendent for instruction Jaime Aquino, announced last month that he is resigning his $250,000 a year job because of interference from the school board.

The loss of the district’s top two instructional leaders raises immediate questions about how LAUSD will move forward with new state tests and a new formula for distributing state funding.

The board bases Deasy’s annual review on a “performance meter” that gauges his progress in reforming the troubled district, with goals for graduation, academic proficiency, attendance, parental engagement and school safety. Under Deasy’s leadership, test scores and graduation rates had steadily risen, while student suspensions have dropped.

Deasy also has ushered in a college-prep curriculum for all students and has been pushing ahead with plans to get LAUSD students prepared for the new Common Core curriculum taking effect in 2015.

However, he also has drawn the ire of United Teachers Los Angeles, whose members rebuked him last year with a “no-confidence vote.” In July, the union gave Deasy failing marks in its first ever “performance evaluation” of a schools chief, with the lowest scores for staff morale and smart spending.

“It is no secret that UTLA has had major concerns with John Deasy’s leadership,” UTLA President Warren Fletcher said in a statement issued late Thursday. “Nonetheless, the future of LAUSD is not about one man. “The challenge going forward is to make sure students and schools get the resources they so badly need after five punishing years of recession. UTLA believes new leadership at LAUSD holds the potential to make that happen,” Fletcher said.

Deasy joined the district when he was hired as a deputy superintendent in June 2010, when he was seen as the heir apparent to then-superintendent Ramon Cortines. Previously he had been working as deputy director of education at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior to that he was superintendent in districts that included Prince George’s County Public Schools in Maryland, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified, and Coventry Public Schools in Rhode Island.

The LAUSD board then hired him on a 6-0 vote as superintendent in January 2011 after the 78-year-old Cortines announced his retirement.

Launched last year, the School Quality Snapshot includes information on an individual school’s Academic Performance Index data, along with suspension and expulsion rates, results of physical fitness tests and student demographics. High schools also have information posted on graduation rates, SAT scores and the percentage of students passing college-prep courses.

“Since we created these School Quality Snapshots, Californians have viewed more than 100,000 copies to learn more about their local schools,” said state schools Superintendent Tom Torlakson. “The snapshot puts the information parents and the public need and want right at their fingertips.”

The lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges that teacher Armando Gonzalez kissed, fondled and inappropriately touched three young girls between 2008 and 2010, resulting in “extensive physical, psychological and emotional damage.” The girls were about 8 and 11 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.

The suit also said Gonzalez may have molested as many as 15 children beginning in 2007 and that district officials ignored numerous “red flags” that could have kept other youngsters from being harmed. In addition to his work as a teacher, Gonzalez was involved in after-school and youth programs, the suit said.

Gonzalez could not be reached, and his attorney did not immediately return a phone call.

According to district spokesman Sean Rossall, Gonzalez was reassigned to an administrative office on March 16, 2010, the day the district received a misconduct complaint, and never returned to the classroom.

He was placed on unpaid status on Jan. 11, 2012, one day after the school board voted to fire him, Rossall said. According to minutes of that meeting, termination proceedings for five elementary, one middle school and three high school teachers were approved by the board that day.

Gonzalez appealed his firing but resigned last week, Rossall said. The district reported the resignation to the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing, According to Rossall, the case against Gonzalez involved a “lengthy” police and district investigation.

“It is unfortunate that the state has created such a cumbersome and costly dismissal process,” General Counsel David Holmquist said in a statement. “As a school district, we took the leadership to work with state legislators to give us the final authority to fire teachers accused of misconduct. Unfortunately, the bill that was passed this session does not provide adequate protection for our students.”

District records show that Gonzalez was hired by Los Angeles Unified in 1988 and worked as a campus aide and teacher’s assistant at Soto, Malabar, Eastman and Humphreys Elementary schools. He began working as a teacher at El Sereno in September 1996.

The records show no previous disciplinary complaints.

Luis Carrillo, attorney for the three girls, said the district pulled Gonzalez from the classroom after receiving a complaint from another child and that his clients were identified as alleged victims in the subsequent investigation.

Carrillo also represents several of the alleged victims of Mark Berndt, the former Miramonte Elementary teacher who has pleaded not guilty to charges that he molested 23 students. The district has agreed to pay some $30 million to settle 63 claims, though 65 other cases remain outstanding.

Authorities said Berndt played a bizarre “tasting game” with his students, spoon-feeding them his semen and giving them semen-tained cookies.

His arrest triggered a sex-abuse scandal that resulted in new policies for reporting suspected abuse and notifying parents of alleged misconduct involving teachers at their child’s school.