The GED (General Education Development) series, is a set of 5 exams administered by the American Council on Education. The GED is used as a high school equivalency test. If you pass the exams, it is equivalent to graduating from an accredited high school. Every year, thousands of home school graduates and older adults take the GED tests so that they can enroll in community colleges, four year colleges, apply for jobs, or enroll in online job training programs.
A GED or high school diploma is the basic requirement for almost every job and higher education program. If you are lacking a high school diploma, here are some key facts about the GED as well as some resources.
GED Structure
The full battery of GED tests consists of Language Arts Writing, Language Arts Reading, Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics. It is possible to take the 5 GED tests in Spanish, however, you will also have to pass a separate English proficiency test, for a total of 6 tests. Here are the timing and number of questions for each test:
Writing: 50 multiple choice questions, 75 minutes + a 45 minute essay
Reading: 40 multiple choice questions, 65 minutes
Science: 50 multiple choice questions, 80 minutes
Social Studies: 50 multiple choice questions, 70 minutes
Mathematics: 40 multiple choice and 10 open answer questions, 90 minutes
Each test covers material that is typically learned in grades 9 through 12.
Depending on the testing center policies, you do not have to take all the exams on the same day for your fist attempt. And if you need to retake one or more of the exams because your scores are not high enough, you can retake just the GED exams that you scored poorly on, without having to retake the exams that you did well on.
It is important to know that the GED cannot be taken online. There are online GED study programs available, but the actual battery of exams must be taken at a brick-and-mortar testing center authorized by the GED test makers. You can read more on how to avoid online GED scams.
GED Scoring
Each test is scored on a scale from 200 to 800. To pass the GED, you must score at least 410 on each exam, and have a total composite score of 2250 (which works out to a 450 average).
For example, if your scores are
400, 700, 700, 700, 700,
you will not pass because you got below a 410 on one of the tests. In order to pass the GED, you will have to retake the exam that you scored a 400 on.
Likewise, if your scores are
420, 420, 420, 420, 420,
you will not pass because your composite score is only 2100. In this case, you will have to retake several of the exams so that your total score is at least 2250.
But, if your scores are
420, 500, 500, 420, 650,
you will pass the GED.
If you pass the GED, but are not satisfied with your scores, you cannot retake the exam unless a college or employer requires that you earn higher scores. In general, passing scores are simply passing scores. Only for elite college admissions would it be necessary to try to "ace" the GED. Most employers will not care too much about your individual test scores.
Contrary to popular belief, the GED exams are quite difficult. They are designed so that only the top 60th percentile of high school seniors can pass the exams. So if you are able to pass the GED with minimum scores, you are in the upper 60th percentile of US high school seniors.
GED Study Guides
Three of the most comprehensive GED study guides are
