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There may be a rival exam to the GED in New York State in 2014. GED Testing Service’s plan to computerize the GED exam and rising costs are among several issues driving the state and more than 30 others to find alternative exams.

Currently, New York pays the testing company $60 for each exam because the state doesn’t permit charging residents to take the GED. And New York would rather maintain the pencil and paper exam format because computerized testing limits access, according to state officials.

The state’s 260 testing sites are not equipped to provide the more than 50,000 tests annually. And state officials are concerned about the computer-literacy of test takers.

New York is also transitioning to a more rigorous common core standard, and the state’s passing rate could be stressed by the change. State education officials want to move to computerized tests that include the common core gradually.

New York’s GED passing rate was the third lowest in the country in 2011. The nation’s average is about 72 percent.