What Is Ged Test and How to Prepare for It
If you are looking to complete your high-school education, GED is the test for you. This certification will enable you to prove your eligibility and fitness for the jobs in various fields. We have explained “what is a GED” and have tried to cover all the important things about this test to help you get ready for it
It was originally started for the military personnel returning from war and veterans who have served in the armed forces. It was aimed at providing them an opportunity to complete their high-school level education to get into the mainstream of the society and get civilian jobs.
Later it was made popular among the general public and now has been considered as a stepping stone to pursue further education. Any person of age 16 or more and not enrolled with any high-school is eligible for the GED test.
According to the latest statistics, 30% of the GED certificate holders take a job to settle. Rest of the people go for further educational or professional courses to advance their career and earning capacity.
What is the GED test?
GED Stands for General Education Development and is meant to enable a person to get jobs requiring high-school level skills. It was started as a program to help soldiers returning from World War II so that they can prove their skills and get civilian jobs after returning from war.
There have been five revisions in the test since its start. The most important change was introduced in the year 1988 which required the test taker to submit a writing sample or an essay. The main focus was on problem-solving ability and relevant social topics.
The test was revised fourth time in 2002 to make it up to date with the most recent high-school level educational standards. The last revision in GED testing system was done in January 2014 which is applicable for the United States only and not for Canada and other locations.
What you exactly need to know about the GED test
If you are planning to appear in the GED test, you must know some basic details like what to study, how to prepare, what to practice, what will be the exam style and question types. Apart from that, you also have to know where to get guidance for this exam and how much would this test cost to you.
The important details are as below.
Core subjects
GED exam evaluates a person’s knowledge and skills in four core subjects. They are English, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science. So, you have to study these four subjects in your GED preparation.
In the third revision in 1988, the emphasis was given on reasoning and language skills apart from the core subjects. This required person to be very good at problem-solving and writing skills in English.
This change was introduced to make GED more relevant to the development of society. The purpose of this change is to enable the person to work in a highly competitive working environment.
Question types
There are several question types, i.e. multiple-choice questions, drag and drop, fill-in-the-blank, hot spot, short and long essay etc. If you are taking online GED classes, you will have chances to practice these type questions. You can get further guidance and information from the websites available online.
Score required to obtain a certificate
Unlike other tests, this test requires you to perform well and equally in all four subjects. Each subject will have a total of 200 points out of which you have to score at least 145. There is no minus scoring for the wrong answers. Also, note that there is no provision of combining the total of all four subjects to consider an average as a passing criterion.
If you achieve the score between 165 to 174, you will be given the exemption from the placement tests taken by colleges. The higher your score, the higher your chances of getting an entry to the class of your skill level.
If you score 175 or more, you will also be given up to 10 hours of college credit hours in addition to the exemption from the placement test.
How to prepare and practice
There are many websites where you can get GED study guide to plan your schedule and prepare a plan for the study and practice. Taking a suitable approach and preparing in the right way will help you get ready for the test with high-confidence. You can take location classes, you also have an option to attended online classes.
Official practice tests are available online, so you can test yourself and know your score. By taking a practice test, you will know where you are excellent and where you need to improve. Preparing accordingly will further improve your chances of success in the test.
You can get further guidance and information online by searching the terms like “GED test prep”.
Testing process
GED test is taken on a computer and is available in two languages, i.e. English and Spanish. You will need to have an email and password which you will get at the time of registration for the test. You will also need to carry all the required documents at the time of the test.
Pay attention to these small details when you read the guidelines about the preparation and how to get your GED on the official GED website of the state.
For the Math, science and social studies subjects of the test, you can use a TI-30XS Multi-view Scientific Calculator if you don’t want to use an online calculator. You are not allowed to bring any other than these permitted items.
You can’t bring a cell phone and there will also be a very limited storage for the same. If you are found possessing a cell phone, there will be a high chance of your restriction from the test.
You will be given the facility to do the basic work or scratch use during the test. For this, you will be issued a wipe-off board instead of the paper for the security purposes. The score report will be made available on the testing day itself.
How many times may I take the GED test?
If you take classes and prepare effectively, you would be able to pass the test at the first attempt. However, if you fail in any subject, you can give a test again for the same subject within a year. You can take tests again without any waiting period for up to three times.
If you fail to clear all the subjects in these attempts, you can attend a test again after 60 days. Thus you get maximum eight opportunities to clear the exam within a calendar year.
Cost of taking the GED
Generally, the GED testing service charges $30 per subject from the local testing agency. However, the charges and the total cost to the student may vary from state to state. You can obtain an accurate cost information from the testing administrator of your state.
However, you can consider a total of $120 for the four subjects. The cost is almost the same in most of the states, and even less in some. It can be known from the official GED website of the state for.
You will get a discount of $20 in some states for the retake of the exam within the 12 months. In some states, it’s completely free of charge for a certain number of attempts. You can check with the official website for the same.
Note that there will be a full fee for the test after a certain number of failed attempts. Also, there is no discount if you are attempting the test again to improve your score.
Though we have tried to explain everything from what does GED stand for to how to prepare for it, you should check the official GED website of respective state to get the latest information.
Best of luck!
