GED stands for General Equivalency Diploma. It is also referred to as General Equivalency Development. It is a set of tests designed for those who do not hold a high-school certificate. Clearing this test certifies that the test giver has met high-school academic skills.

History of GED

GED test series was developed by the American Council of Education (ACE) in 1942. It was developed at the request of the Armed Forces Institute of the US.

This test series was organized with an aim to see whether the candidate possesses knowledge up to senior secondary level. It focused on testing the knowledge of the military personnel who had not cleared their senior secondary (+2) level exam. This helped the commandos to get several other jobs or promotions.

GED was revised in January 2014 to be a computer-based testing platform, allowing more and more members to join easily.

Important details

Approximately 20 million people have passed the GED test to earn the pass certificate of senior secondary examination.

• The tests include five subjects viz.
• Writing test of language arts
• Reading test of language arts
• Test of social studies
• Test of science
• Test of mathematics

These tests are conducted in English, Spanish and French languages, and for those with seeing disability, it is conducted in Braille.

On clearing the GED tests, examinees receive a certificate of the senior secondary exam from the state.

This test measures communication, information-processing, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills of examinees.

Maximum time allotted for the test is 7 and 1/2 hours, and the passing percentage is 60%.

Test administration

The GED Testing program is a joint venture. The GED Testing Service of the ACE and Education Department of each participating state administers it together. There are approximately 3500 GED centers around the world. Most of them are in US and Canada.

Cost of GED

GED test cost varies with state. The minimum cost is $30 per subject and $150 for all the five subjects. It is your choice, whether you wish to appear for all the five tests at once or you wish to attempt one paper at a time.

Special aids for disabled students

Students with a disability are benefited with certain aids to assist them while giving the examination. Such students get a special form from the test center. They have to fill this form and attach a proof of disability (e.g., a doctor’s prescription). This helps the center head to recognize the disability and provide the students with apt benefits.

Example

• Students with seeing or hearing disability must fill a physical health disability form
• Students suffering from dyslexia or any other learning disability must fill up the form, concerned to this disease
• People bearing mental disorders get a mental disorder form
• People who suffer from behavioral disorders have to fill up an ADHD form
• People who have duly filled up the form of disability and have submitted it to the test center along with all the necessary documents attached to it are provided with certain amenities, including:
• Tape recorder and cassette for recording the answers
• Question paper in Braille literature
• Magnifier or listening machine
• Language interpreter
• Time extension
• A transcriber
• Abacus

Important topics for GED exam

In the writing test of language arts, your grammar is tested. You are provided a passage with grammatical errors and asked to make the required changes.

In the reading test of language arts, you are given a passage to read, and questions related to these passages are asked. This helps in testing your reading and understanding ability.

In the test of social studies, you are asked questions related to history and civic life of the country. Topics related to the economic condition of the nation (both in present scenario and in the past) are asked in GED exam.

In the test of science, you are asked questions related to physics, chemistry, and biology.

Maths test is to test your calculation power, rather than formula applications. You are asked questions related to arithmetic, geometry, and algebra. This helps in testing your calculation skills.

GED online preparation

Practice makes a man perfect. The more you practice, the better you become. So, to crack the GED test, you need to practice GED online test papers. You get these test papers online on the GED official website. There are hundreds of other websites offering the GED online test papers. Some of them are with answers, to help you to find out the right answers in case you are unaware of it. So, take at least 3-4 sets of the GED online test to make yourself confident of cracking it. First few tests will help you figure out your mistakes or where you are lacking. This gives you room for improvement. The more you practice through GED online tests, the more will you polish yourself.