General Educational Development (or GED) tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills. The GED is also referred to as a General Education Diploma, General Equivalency Diploma, or Graduate Equivalency Degree.

The GED is the only nationally, and internationally, recognized high school equivalency diploma.

The American Council on Education is the sole developer for the GED test. The test is taken in person. Jurisdictions award a "Certificate of General Educational Development" or similarly titled credential to persons who meet the passing score requirements.

Only individuals who have not earned a high school diploma may take the GED tests. The tests were originally created to help veterans after World War II return to civilian life. Common reasons for GED recipients not having received a high school diploma include adult immigration to the United States or Canada, homeschooling, leaving high school early, the inability to pass required courses or mandatory achievement tests, the need to work, personal problems, and wanting to get into college early.

How The Test Works

The GED comprises five tests: "Language Arts: Writing", "Social Studies", "Science", "Language Arts: Reading", and "Mathematics".

To ensure fairness, all Official GED Testing Centers must adhere to the uniform testing standards specified by the American Council on Education, including adherence to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Local policies determine whether students must take all five tests in one day. Some locations divide the tests among two or more days, and testing days are not always consecutive.

The GED tests consist of:

Language Arts: Writing Part I -- The "Language Arts: Writing" test portion is divided into two parts, of which the first covers sentence structure, organization, usage, and mechanics. Test-takers read text from business, informational, and instructional publications and then correct, revise, or improve the text according to Edited American English standards (or equivalent standards in Spanish and French versions). Test-takers have 75 minutes to complete the 50 items in Part I.

Language Arts: Writing Part II -- This part of the "Language Arts: Writing" test requires the student to write an essay on an assigned topic in 45 minutes. Persons who finish Part I early may apply the remaining time to their essays.

A passing essay must have well-focused main points, clear organization, and specific development of ideas, and demonstrate the writer's control of sentence structure, punctuation, grammar, word choice, and spelling. There is no minimum word count.

The essay should be long enough to develop the topic adequately. Assigned topics are always an opinion or perspective that does not require special knowledge, such as the influence of violent music on teenagers or the advantages and disadvantages of living without children.

Social Studies -- This test covers American history, world history, civics and government, economics, and geography; 70 minutes are allotted for the 50 questions.

In the social studies test, test-takers read short passages and answer multiple-choice questions. Some passages come from such documents as the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Many questions use graphs, charts, and other images, such as editorial cartoons, along with or instead of written passages. Questions involving economics as well as civics and government, rely heavily on practical documents, such as tax forms, voter-registration forms, and workplace and personal budgets. Topics such as global warming and environmental law also are covered.

Science -- This 80-minute test of 50 multiple-choice questions covers life science, earth science, space science, and physical science. It measures the candidate's skill in understanding, interpreting, and applying science concepts to visual and written text from academic and workplace contexts.

The test focuses on what a scientifically literate person must know, understand, and be able to do. Questions address the National Science Education Content Standards and focus on environmental and health topics (recycling, heredity, and pollution, for example) and science's relevance to everyday life. Students should expect to see tables, graphs, charts, and diagrams, as well as complete sentences.

Most questions on the "Science" test involve a graphic, such as a map, graph, chart, or diagram. Subjects covered include photosynthesis, weather and climate, geology, magnetism, energy, and cell division.

Language Arts: Reading -- This 65-minute, 40-question test examines a test-taker's ability to read and understand texts similar to those encountered in high-school English classrooms. The test has five fiction and two nonfiction passages, each about 300–400 words long. The fiction passages include portions of a play, a poem, and three pieces of prose. The nonfiction passages may come from letters, biographies, newspaper and magazine articles, or such "practical" texts as manuals and forms.

Each passage is followed by questions that assess reading comprehension, as well as the test-taker's ability to analyze the text, apply the information given to other situations, and synthesize new ideas from those provided. Questions do not require test-takers to be familiar with the larger piece of literature from which the excerpt is taken, the author's other works, literary history, or discipline-specific terms and conventions.

Math -- This 90-minute, 50-question test has two equally weighted parts, the first of which allows candidates to use calculators, while the second forbids their use. Test-takers must use the calculators issued at the testing center, no other. Forty of the 50 questions are multiple-choice; the other 10 use an alternate format, requiring the test-taker to record answers on either a numerical or coordinate-plane grid. Both portions of the test have questions of both types. The test booklet offers a page of common formulas as well as directions for completing the alternate-format items and using the calculator.

The GED math test focuses on four main mathematical disciplines: Number operations and number sense; Measurement and geometry; Data analysis, probability, and statistics; and Algebra, functions, and patterns.

Test Administration

There are more than 3,200 Official GED Testing Centers in the United States and Canada. Testing centers are most often in adult-education centers, community colleges, and public schools. Students in metropolitan areas may be able to choose from several nearby testing locations.

Official GED Testing Centers are controlled environments. All testing sessions take place in person (not online) according to very specific rules, and security measures are enforced. Breaks may be permitted between tests, depending on how many tests are being administered in a session. There may be restrictions on what test-takers may bring into the testing room.

There are approximately 25 different editions of the GED Tests that may be in circulation. This measure helps catch test-takers who may be cheating. As with any standardized test, the various editions are calibrated to the same level of difficulty.

Cost

The cost of the GED for test-takers varies depending on the state. The most reliable and up-to-date information regarding any given area's current testing costs and policies may be found by contacting the local testing center.

In some areas, there is no charge to students who wish to receive the GED. In Arkansas, for example, there is no charge to students who pass a practice test. In Connecticut, veterans and students under age 21 take the test for free; depending on their local GED board, students can also take preparation courses for free and/or receive a free copy of the official preparation textbook.

In other states, the test-taker must pay for the cost of the test. Fees in 2008 ranged from $7.50 at North Carolina's community colleges to more than $100 in California. There may be a fee for registering for the exam, and then a separate fee for re-taking any section, which the test-taker can do up until the expiration date of that exam, which is generally the last day of that year or the next year.

Students With Disabilities

Disabled persons who want to take the GED Tests may be entitled to receive reasonable testing accommodations. If a qualified professional has documented the disability, the candidate should get the appropriate form from the Testing Center.

The candidate should return the completed form to the GED Testing Center. Each request is considered individually. If accommodations are approved, the local GED testing examiner will conduct the testing with the approved accommodations. Accommodations are provided at no extra charge. There are various accommodations available.

International Testing

The Maine Department of Education, through a contract with the GED Testing Service of the American Council on Education, awards a Maine High School Equivalency Diploma to those candidates who have successfully tested through Prometric's International GED Testing Program. Prometric offers a computerized version of the test at various locations worldwide. The test-taker can set dates on available weekdays throughout the year.

Passing The GED Testing Battery

Possible scores on an individual test within the GED battery, like those on an individual section of the SAT, range from a minimum of 200 to a maximum of 800.

A score of 800 on an individual test puts the student in the top 1% of graduating high school seniors. ACE issues recommendations for what constitutes a minimum passing score for any given sub-test (currently 410) and for the test as a whole (currently 2250, i.e. an average of 450 per test across all five sub-tests).

Although most GED-issuing jurisdictions (for the most part, Boards of Education of U.S. states) adopt these minimum standards as their own, a jurisdiction may establish higher standards for issuance of the certificate if it chooses. Many jurisdictions award honors-level equivalency diplomas to students meeting certain criteria higher than those for a standard diploma in a given jurisdiction. Some districts hold graduation ceremonies for GED Tests passers and/or award scholarships to the highest scorers.

Colleges that admit based upon high school grades may require a minimum score on the GED for admittance based upon the GED. For example, Arizona State University requires an average sub-test score of 500 in addition to the certificate.

In most jurisdictions, students must earn a minimum score of 410 on each of the five tests, as well as an overall average of 450 or above.

If a student passes one or more but not all five tests within the battery, he or she needs only retake the test(s) s/he did not pass. Most places limit the number of times students may take each individual test within a year. A student may encounter a waiting period before being allowed to retake a failed test. Tests must be completed by the expiration date, which is generally every 2 years on the last day of the year.

The GED credential itself is issued by the state, province, or territory in which the test taker lives.

The test is administered to a representative sample of graduating high-school seniors each year, about 30% of whom fail the test. That only 70% of these students pass the test may show that it is harder than commonly believed.

The best way to prepare to pass the GED test is by studying the associated subject matter and successfully completing as many practice tests as possible.

Practice - Practice - Practice

For more information about the GED credential visit the GED Testing Service web site.