Do inmates really get the same knowledge and skills from GED courses inside as high school students emerge from school with? Or is it just a token thing?

The GED is VERY HARD. I think it is more demanding than what passes for a HSD these days. The GED inside is the very same one offered nationally in the US.

From the American Council on Education (http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Professionals&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=7857)

"The standard score scale for the GED Tests is derived directly from the performance of graduating high school seniors. Standard scores, and the accompanying percentile ranks, provide the vehicle for comparing the performance of GED candidates to the performance of graduating high school seniors. In order to pass the GED Tests, the GED candidate must currently demonstrate a level of skill that meets or surpasses that of the top 60 percent of graduating high school seniors."