What is GED?

The GED proves that you have gained a certain level of knowledge that is almost equal to that of a high school graduate.

What Does GED Stand For?

GED stands for General Equivalency Diploma. It helps students who are without a High School Diploma. If you are opting for GED, you need to study and take a series of tests to certify your aptitude, skills, and knowledge. It helps those who never finished high school. Make sure to find a location nearby. When the student passes each section of these tests, s/he receives a certificate. This certificate shows that the s/he has basic high-school-level academic skills.

Know about the history of the GED

The GED program started in 1942. During that year, the U.S. Department of Defense collaborated with American Council. Their agenda was to form a vast of general education tests on the basis of the high school curriculum. Military applicants could take these tests back then. Passing this set of tests provided these service members an academic credential. This credential helped gain entry into a good college or to get a decent job.

In 1947, New York became the first state to make the GED test available to civilians. This made GED as valuable as the Regent’s Diploma. The latter is a credential that is given to adults who attend night school to get their high school diploma. By 1974, all 50 states were awarding GED credentials to various civilians. The American Council on Education has revised the GED test 4 times. It plans to have future revisions as individual, employment and academic requirements changes.

Where to Take the GED?

GED testing sites and study centers lie in every state. In general, study centers are part of a state’s Adult Education program. Testing centers are at colleges, local libraries, public schools, universities or community centers. There are certain states that have plenty of GED sites. Others may have only some at centralized locations. The GED Testing Service website has a Test Prep Center locator tool. This tool helps you to find a study center that lies near you. You will have to generate an account to make use of this tool. The Testing Service website also offers a search tool for GED testing centers. You can find the location nearest you with your address or zip code.

How to Take the GED test?

In order to take the GED, a student needs to prepare for the exam. Plenty of GED programs and local bookstores offer pre-test study guides. In addition, The GED Testing Service provides an official practice test. You can take this test on a computer. It is about half the assessments of the actual test. GED Ready is a practice tool that will inform you if you can pass the tests. If you need more preparation, it will tell you exactly the items you have to study for. There is a fee for each of the 4 GED Ready test sections.

There is also a shorter, free practice test that is available in English and Spanish. This can help you understand the scope of the 4 tests. This test is not meant to figure out if you are ready for the exams. It is merely an enrichment resource.

To take the GED test, you must register on ged.com website. Eligibility needs for the GED test vary by states. You must prove age, residency, and lack of a secondary school credential in order to register for the test. You may review eligibility requirements. Also, check testing centers from the the GED Testing Service website.
The GED tests are available in English and Spanish. Students may apply for accommodations based on their Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Some common accommodations are extra time, a private room, a reader or scribe and many others. The cost of the GED test differs from state to state. The cost averages around $120 for the 4 tests.

What is on the test?

The GED sub tests take about seven (7) hours in total to complete. These sub tests cover the four (4) primary high-school subjects. Tests are usually taken via a computer, but not online. Paper testing is available as an accommodation. Check with the GED testing center in your local area. This way you can learn about their set of specific testing procedures.

GED Examination Requirements

GED exam requirements for every state references the following –

Age: Make sure to confirm age criteria for the particular state.

Residency: Certain states need the student to live in the state s/he want to take the test.

Photo Identification: A passport or a driver’s license is required.

Preparation Course Completion: Make sure to confirm the requirements of the state associated with prep courses and practice tests.

Must Not Be Enrolled in High School: Some states need students to be out of high school for a certain period of time before eligibility.

Keep in mind that most states do not accept the GED.

GED Test Preparation

The backbone of the GED Test Prep is a series of comprehensive assessments that test students in the five GED subject areas – Language Arts (Reading and Writing), Social Studies, Science, and Mathematics. The pretests for GED competency pinpoint individual student skill deficiencies and automatically assign lessons that teach those skills. After students progress through the lesson material in a self-paced environment, the post-tests measure and record academic gains, indicating whether students are prepared to take the GED exam. All questions on the tests are aligned to the GED test objectives.

What is a good GED score?

The score depends on the number of points a student earn in every section. Various questions have various point values. The questions in which a student fills in a few blanks are worth 2 points. Many of questions a student sees while taking the test is likely to vary from one form of the test to another. The only thing that remains the same across the various test forms is the number of points on every single test. Then, the total score for each of the four individual GED tests is counted and converted to a basic score. This usually ranges from 100 to 200.

Your final GED transcript will include your basic scores and your percentile ranking. The comparison between the GED score to graduating high school seniors is also a major factor. In order earn the equivalency diploma, you need to get a certain score. This score should be 60% or greater than the scores of high-school graduating seniors.

Various states, territories, and Canadian provinces requires a higher passing scores Make sure to contact your local Department of Education for further details.

Conclusion

A high school diploma is different from a equivalency diploma. Also, a GED certificate is different from an equivalency diploma and a high school diploma. The HiSET test makes use of 5 subjects to check the students’ high school cognitive competency. The GED requires 4 subjects to attain a score.