The GED, or General Educational Development tests, were created in 1942 to measure the academic skills of U.S. soldiers who had left high school to join the military. Though the test has undergone revisions, the American Council on Education has maintained the tests as a way for those who did not graduate high school to gain an equivalent certification. Now, it seems that the move to modernize the test has resulted in higher costs, leading some states to abandon the GED.

According to an Associated Press report, 40 states are now looking into alternatives for the GED. This comes as the GED Testing Service, which runs the tests, has announced a new version of the GED set to launch in 2014. The new version of the test will be available only on computer and will cost $120 – double the cost of the current test. The new GED will also reportedly have tougher math and reading standards.

States, such as New York and New Hampshire, have already announced they will be switching to a new high school equivalency test, and others, such as Tennessee, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, Indiana, and Missouri are exploring other solutions to the rising test price. Competing equivalency tests are now making bids and educating states on their tests, some of which have paper versions and offer much lower prices.