GED Test
The test is developed by the General Educational Development Testing Service of the American Council on Education (ACE) and delivered by boards of education of states or their licensees.Although the term "GED test" is often used, students must pass 5 individual tests in order to obtain their GED. These are known collectively as the testing battery. The five tests in the battery are: Language Arts, Writing; Social Studies; Science; Language Arts, Reading; and Mathematics. The Language Arts, Writing test is further divided into part I and part II, and the Mathematics test is split into a calculator-optional portion and a calculator-free one.
Subject Number of Questions Time Limit
Science 50 80 minutes
Mathematics 50 90 minutes
Social Studies 50 70 minutes
Language Arts 50 75 minutes
(Writing, part I)
Language Arts 1 essay 45 minutes
(Writing, part II)
Language Arts 40 65 minutes
(Reading)
7.08 hours
Depending on the state and district, students may or may not have to take all of the tests at the same time. Due to the length of the testing battery, most districts divide the tests into two or more days, and testing sessions are not always consecutive. In larger districts, students are usually given the option of taking their tests on multiple consecutive days or evenings, or they can take them on two consecutive weekends, depending on which time frame is more convenient for them.
The social studies test covers a broad area.25% of the test focuses on American history, 15% on world history, 25% on civics and government, 20% on economics, and 15% on geography. Students are given 70 minutes to answer the 50 questions asked on the Social Studies test.
The reading part of the GED is easy because there are no certain answers one can memorize or study ahead of time. This part of the test measures reading comprehension.The Language Arts, Reading test contains 40 questions that must be answered within 65 minutes. Passages from various texts are provided, after which students are asked to think critically about the subjects, characters, and ideas presented and answer approximately 5 questions about each passage. The questions asked are used to judge a students level of comprehension as well as their skills with application, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
Two non-fiction and three fiction passages are presented, along with one passage from a poem and another from a dramatic play.
The Mathematics test has 50 questions, to which students have 90 minutes to respond, are divided in half, with the first half being calculator-optional.
The Mathematics test focuses on four main mathematical disciplines: numbers and operations (20-30%), measurement and data analysis (20-30%), algebra (20-30%), and geometry (20-30%). Approximately 20% of the test uses standard grids and coordinate plane; these questions are not multiple choice.Calculators are issued at the testing site, and no external calculators may be used. Scrap paper is also provided so students may work problems out using pen or pencil, though no paper may be taken out of the testing room after completion in order to prevent students from giving their answers to others who may not have taken the test yet. Students are also provided with a list of common formulas, though this is controversial because some critics consider this to be too much assistance for those taking the test.
The Writing test is broken up into two parts, the second of which is the composition of an essay while the first part focuses on things like sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation, with the student being asked to correct and/or insert the correct punctuation.
<b>part I</b> covers sentence structure, organization, usage, and mechanics. Students are provided with passages which they are then asked to correct or improve according to Edited American English standards, or equivalent standards in the French version of the test offered in Canada.
<b>part II</b> part II of the Language Arts, Writing test requires the student to write an essay. Students have 45 minutes to complete the essay, though anyone who finishes part I early can add the remaining time from that portion to their essay writing period. A passing essay must have at least 5 paragraphs and must contain a clearly defined introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction must contain a thesis statement as well as preview sentences of the body. The body should contain three paragraphs, each containing separate yet related ideas that develop the main idea. The final paragraph must adequately and coherently summarize the whole essay.
The Science test, which contains 50 questions that must be answered in 80 minutes, contains questions about life science (45%), earth and space science (20%), and physical science (35%).
The mathematics test is considered most challenging because it requires knowing math facts and operations that you may have forgotten or were never taught to begin with. The essay writing in the GED test may be challenging for people who do not have much experience writing this type of paper. It should be noted however, that the scoring for the essay in the GED test is fairly lax, you do not have to be a Steinbeck to pass it.
The GED Tests are developed using specifications established by experienced secondary school and adult educators and are reviewed by subject matter experts. Every GED test question is subjected to multiple reviews by GED test specialists and external content specialists, and is pre-tested before becoming part of a final test form. The GED Tests are also standardized so that only 60% of graduating high school seniors can pass.
Every state has its own rules regarding the exam. In some states you will be required to take the entire exam in one day. In other states the laws are more flexible and you can take the individual sections bit by bit, as you feel ready for them. Some states require that you take the exam over a two-day period. Contact ACE to discover your own state laws.