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The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
or
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high school diploma, as is
HiSET HiSET stands for High School Equivalency Test. It is an alternative to a United States high school diploma and the GED and TASC test. The test was designed based on the OCTAE College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education. It is gov ...
. The GED Testing Service website currently does not refer to the test as anything but "GED". The
American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educatio ...
(ACE), in Washington, D.C. (U.S.), which owns the GED
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
, coined the initialism to identify "tests of general equivalency development" that measure proficiency in science, mathematics, social studies, reading, and writing. Passing the GED test gives those who do not complete high school, or who do not meet requirements for
high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...
, the opportunity to earn their high school equivalency credential, also called a high school equivalency development or general equivalency diploma. It is called the GED in the majority of the United States, Canada, or internationally. In 2014, some states in the United States switched from GED to the
HiSET HiSET stands for High School Equivalency Test. It is an alternative to a United States high school diploma and the GED and TASC test. The test was designed based on the OCTAE College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education. It is gov ...
and TASC. The GED Testing Service is a joint venture of the American Council on Education.
Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education *Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada *Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies *Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...
is the sole developer for the GED test. The test is taken in person. States and jurisdictions award a Certificate of High School Equivalency or similarly titled credential to persons who meet the passing score requirements. In addition to
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, the GED tests are available in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and in French in Canada, large print, audio, and
braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...
. Tests and test preparation are also offered to persons incarcerated and on military bases in addition to more traditional settings. Individuals living outside the United States, Canada, or
U.S. territories Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...
may be eligible to take the GED tests through
Pearson Vue Pearson plc is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s. Spender, J. A., ''Weetman Pearson: Fi ...
testing centers.
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
's Adult High School Completion program has been used as an alternative for individuals who opt to earn a diploma.


History

In November 1942, the
United States Armed Forces Institute The United States Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) was an educational organization that was part of the United States Armed Forces. It was founded in April 1942, as the Army Institute. Between 1942 and 1974, the USAFI provided education opportunitie ...
asked the
American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educatio ...
(ACE) to develop a battery of tests to measure high school-level academic skills. These tests gave military personnel and veterans who had enrolled in the military before completing high school a way to demonstrate their knowledge. Passing these tests gave returning soldiers and sailors the academic credentials they needed to get civilian jobs and gain access to post-secondary education or training. ACE revised the GED tests for a third time in 1988. The most noticeable change to the series was the addition of a writing sample, or
essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...
. The new tests placed more emphasis on socially relevant topics and problem-solving skills. Surveys of test-takers found that more students (65%) reported taking the test with the intention of continuing their education beyond high school, rather than to get better employment (30%). A fourth revision was made in 2002 to make the test comply with more recent standards for high-school education. A fifth revision was released on January 2, 2014, to be delivered on
Pearson VUE Pearson plc is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s. Spender, J. A., ''Weetman Pearson: Fi ...
, a proprietary computer-based testing platform. The new test applies to the United States and internationally, but not to Canada, which continues to use the 2002 version. It retained four content areas but with different content—language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies—that "measure a foundational core of knowledge and skills that are essential for career and college readiness."


Test administration

There are more than 3,200 Official GED Testing Centers in the United States and increasingly in Canada, as well as around the world. Testing centers are most often in adult-education centers,
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
s, and public schools. Students in
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
s may be able to choose from several testing locations. Official GED Testing Centers are controlled environments. All testing sessions take place either in person or 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 three to six GED test forms in circulation at any time. This measure helps catch test-takers who may be
cheating Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate cr ...
. As with any
standardized test A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...
, the various test forms are calibrated to the same level of difficulty.


Eligibility

Regulations governing eligibility to take the GED vary by state. According to GED Testing Service policy, students at least 16 years old and not enrolled in high school are eligible for the program. However, many states require the candidate to be 17 years of age and a resident of the state. Some states which allow students under 17 years of age to take the test require a letter of parental consent and a letter of consent from the student's school district. In South Africa and Namibia, students at least 17 years old are eligible for the program.


Cost

The cost of the GED test for test-takers varies depending on the state. As of 2014, costs can be as low as $45 as is the case in Maryland, or free, as in New York, but the typical fees are $120 for all four tests, or $30 for each of the four subject tests. Testing online has an additional fee, typically $6 per test. The cost of each test outside of the US is $80 each. In Canada the testing is free in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Northwest Territories. For the remaining provinces and territories the price varies between $6 per test in Newfoundland and Labrador to $40 per test in Alberta.


Students with disabilities

Disabled persons who want to take the GED test 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: *
Physical disability A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epileps ...
and chronic-health disability (such as
blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment†...
, low vision, hearing impairment, and mobility impairment): "Request for Testing Accommodations—Physical/Chronic Health Disability" form * Learning or cognitive disability (such as
dyslexia Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
,
dyscalculia Dyscalculia () is a disability resulting in difficulty learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, performing mathematical calculations, and learning facts in mathematics. ...
, receptive
aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in t ...
, and written-language disorder): "Request for Testing Accommodations—Learning and Other Cognitive Disabilities" form * Emotional or mental-health disorder (such as
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
,
Tourette's syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...
, and
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
): "Request for Testing Accommodations—Emotional/Mental health" form *
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inap ...
(inattentive type, hyperactive–impulse type, or combined type): "Request for Testing Accommodations—Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder" form The candidate returns 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, which are provided at no extra charge. Accommodations may include, but are not limited to: *
Audio cassette The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...
tests *
Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...
or large-print tests * Vision-enhancing technologies * Use of video equipment * Use of a talking calculator or abacus * Use of a
sign language interpreter Interpreting is a translational activity in which one produces a first and final target-language output on the basis of a one-time exposure to an expression in a source language. The most common two modes of interpreting are simultaneous interp ...
* Use of a scribe (a person who writes down the test-taker's answers) * Extended testing time


Passing the GED testing battery

Possible scores on an individual test within the GED battery range from a minimum of 100 to a maximum of 200. A score of 200 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 145) and for the test as a whole (currently 580—i.e., an average of 145 per test across all four 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 Honour (or honor in American English) is the quality of being honorable. Honor or Honour may also refer to: People * Honor (given name), a unisex given name * Brian Honour (born 1964), English footballer and manager * Gareth Honor (born 1979 ...
-level equivalency diplomas to students meeting certain criteria higher than those for a standard diploma in a given jurisdiction. Some districts hold
graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
ceremonies for GED tests passers and/or award
scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...
s to the highest scorers. Colleges admit that grades based upon high school may require a minimum score on the GED test for admittance based upon the test. For example,
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
requires an average sub-test score of 500 in addition to the certificate. If a student passes one or more, but not all four tests within the battery, he or she only needs to retake the test(s) not passed. 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 two years on the last day of the year. The GED test is available in many countries around the world. Since 2015, the GED test has become popular in African countries including South Africa and Namibia. Many government institutions and universities regard the GED test credential as the same as a high school diploma with respect to program eligibility and as a prerequisite for admissions. The
U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
, however, has explicitly higher requirements in admissions for GED test takers to compensate for their lack of a traditional high school diploma. 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.


Effects on employability

The GED certification itself (i.e., without further post-secondary education or training) does not create the same labor market opportunities available to traditional high school graduates. While people who have earned the GED test credential tend to earn more than dropouts and less than high school graduates, economist
James Heckman James Joseph Heckman (born April 19, 1944) is a Nobel Prize-winning American economist at the University of Chicago, where he is The Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College; Professor at the Harris School of Pu ...
has found that this is primarily due to existing differences in the characteristics and backgrounds of GED test graduates. When controlling for other influences, he finds no evidence that, for the average taker, the GED test credential improves an individual's economic opportunities above those for other dropouts. Some say overall, there is a certain level of stigma for GED certification holders that affects employability or pursuit of higher education.


Calls for abolition

There are calls for the GED to be abolished. Those who support abolishing the GED say the program reduces high school graduation rates, is outmoded, and a financial burden for low-income participants.


See also

*
HiSET HiSET stands for High School Equivalency Test. It is an alternative to a United States high school diploma and the GED and TASC test. The test was designed based on the OCTAE College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education. It is gov ...
* TASC *
CHSPE The California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) is an early exit testing program established under California law (specifically, California Education Code Section 48412). Testers who pass the CHSPE receive a Certificate of Proficiency from t ...
, a similar California standardized test aimed at high school students *
HSED HSED or High School Equivalency Diploma or HEP is comparable to achieving a high school diploma instead of simply proving the skills by taking the GED. Sometimes it can be synonymous. When spelled ''HSed'' it can mean ''home schooled''. In some p ...
, a credential issued in Wisconsin that utilizes two additional testing batteries *
Adult high school An adult high school or adult school is a high school facility designed for adult education. It is intended for adults who have not completed high school to continue their education. Some adult high schools offer child care, special integration pro ...


References


Further reading

* * ''GED Technical Manual, 2nd Edition.'' (1998). Washington, DC: GED Testing Service of the American Council on Education. * Northcutt, Ellen ''et al''. ''Steck-Vaughn Complete GED Preparation'' (2002). Austin: Steck-Vaughn Company. * Rockowitz, Murray ''et al''. ''Barron's How to Prepare for the GED High School Equivalency Exam'' (2004). New York:
Barron's Educational Series Kaplan, Inc. is an American for-profit corporation that provides educational and training services to colleges, universities, businesses and individuals around the world. Founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan, the company offers a variety of test prep ...
, Inc. * Mitchell, Robert. ''McGraw-Hill's GED: Science'' (2003). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. * Larry Elowitz ''et al''. ''GED Success: 2003'' (2003). Lawrenceville, New Jersey: Peterson's.


External links

* {{official website, https://ged.com/
Official African website
Secondary education in Canada Secondary education in the United States School qualifications School systems Standardized tests in the United States 1942 introductions Education in South Africa