The Tests of General Educational Development (GED) consist of four independent subtests, each designed to assess your skills and knowledge of basic high school curriculum subject fields.
The GED exam is for adults 16 or older (in most states) who have never completed their regular high school curriculum and who are not enrolled in a public or private high school.
Underage GED applicants (in most states, those ages 16 and 17) are required to meet additional strict criteria, such as having parental approval and being officially withdrawn from the education system.
Generally speaking, on the GED test, you are required to demonstrate your knowledge and skills in relation to specific situations rather than memorization of specific dates and facts.
Many GED candidates struggle with math, however, and many will even give up studying for their GED diploma after several math failures. Well, Onsego created an interesting GED Math calculator program that will drastically improve your chances of passing the Math portion of the GED exam.
GED Testing Service
The GED test is developed and distributed by GED Testing Service, a cooperation between the American Council on Education (ACE) and publisher Pearson VUE. When you have passed the four separate sub-exams that make up the GED test, your state will award you a high-school equivalency (GED) diploma.
Signing up for the GED exam must be done online at the official GED website GED.com. This is where you can schedule your testing appointments and pay for your tests.
GED Online
You can sit for the four GED sub-exams online or at one of your state’s designated test centers. For both options, you must create your account on the website GED.com. You may sit for the four sub-exams one at a time.
To be eligible for taking the GED exam online, you’ll have to reach passing scores on four GED Ready practice tests, as there’s an official GED Ready test for each of the GED subject tests that address Science, Math, English Language, and Social Studies.
The GED exam is a challenging assessment, and decent GED preparation is definitely required. You can learn from study books, attend a prep class in a physical facility, or benefit from a good, accredited online GED prep course, such as the online classes designed by Onsego GED Prep. Online learning offers you the flexibility to learn what, where, and when you prefer.
How Long Is The GED Test?
The four GED subtests are modular and delivered exclusively on a computer. Paper-based testing is not available anymore except as an accommodation. The full GED battery will take you about seven hours to complete, but, as stated earlier, you can take the subtests one (or more) at a time if you wish.
You are allowed the following time to deal with the subtests:
- English Language Arts: 150 minutes (incl. a 10-minute break)
- Mathematics: 115 minutes
- Science: 90 minutes
- Social Studies: 70 minutes
The GED passing score is 145 on a 100-200 scale, and this counts for all sub-exams. No exceptions. The GED passing score is in accordance with what colleges expect college-bound students to understand and know and what employers expect of entry-level position applicants.
GED For A Better Future
Your GED diploma allows you to go to college. It has the same status as a high school degree. But it also qualifies you for job promotions., so you can work toward a more rewarding career.
High school or GED graduates may expect to earn at least $9800 more than workers that do not have a high school or equivalent education credential. So getting your GED really pays off, right?
And the fact that the GED exam is fully computer-based also makes sense. In our contemporary labor market, there’s hardly any position (also not at the entry level) that doesn’t require applicants to master at least basic keyboarding and computing skills!