General Educational Development Diploma (GED)

The GED testing program is jointly administered by the GED Testing Service (GEDTS) of the American Council on Education and by the Virginia Department of Technical and Adult Education Office of Adult Literacy. The GED battery of tests is developed by GEDTS and the same tests are given in all fifty states.

The GED test provides adults at least 16 years of age who are beyond the age of compulsory high school attendance under state law with an opportunity to earn a high school equivalency diploma. In order to pass the GED test, a student must pass a series of five tests in writing skills, social studies, science, interpreting literature and arts, and mathematics. Successfully passing these sections demonstrates that the student has acquired a level of learning that is comparable to that of high school graduates. The GEDTS has set a national standard for the minimum score an examinee can receive in order to pass the GED. GED diplomas are issued according to the following guidelines:

Who is eligible to take the GED tests?
The GED tests can be administered only to persons who:

• have not graduated from an accredited high school or received a high school equivalency certificate or diploma
• are not currently enrolled in a regular high school
• are at least 16 years of age*

* Applicants must receive special needs approval. Contact the local GED Testing Center for more information.

How do I apply to take THE GED tests?
You may complete an official application form, as prescribed by the Virginia Department of Education at your local GED Testing Center.

Residency: You do not need to be a resident of Virginia to be eligible to take the GED tests.

Identification: When you take the GED tests, official photo identification is required for admission.

What is the new scoring system?
Tests will now be scored from 200 to 800 points A minimum standard score of 410 is necessary to pass each individual exam, and an average standard score of 450 is required to pass the full battery.

What fees will I be charged?
You will be charged a standard fee for taking the GED tests. Other fees are charged for retests.

The original GED Diploma and a copy of the test scores will be provided to successful examinees by the Virginia Department of Education office. However, a fee will be charged for a duplicate or replacement GED Diploma or duplicate copies of test scores. Contact your local GED Testing Center for fees and schedules.

What are GED tests like?
Five separate tests make up the GED battery of tests. Test questions range in difficulty from easy to hard, and cover a wide range of subjects. All the questions on four of the parts are multiple choice with five possible answers given. Part II of the Writing Skills Tests does require you to write an essay.

The content of these tests are as follows:

Writing Skills, Part I (50 questions, 75 minutes)
15% Organization
30% Sentence Structure
30% Usage
25% Mechanics

Writing Skills, Part II (45 minutes)
Essay

Social Studies (50 questions, 70 minutes)
15% History
30% Geography
30% Civics and Government
25% Economics

Science (50 questions, 80 minutes)
45% Life Science
20% Earth and Space Science
35% Physical Sciences

Language Arts, Reading (40 questions, 60 minutes)
20% Comprehension
15% Application
30-35% Analysis
30-35% Synthesis

Mathematics (50 questions, 90 minutes)

	Procedural	Conceptual	Applications/Modeling/ Problem Solving
Number Operations	Each content area will account for 20% to 30% of the entire test; approximately 20% will be in the Procedural domain, approximately 30% will be in the Conceptual domain, and 50% will be in the Applications/ Modeling/Problem Solving domain
Measurement/Geometry
Data Analysis/Statistics
Algebra

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Mount Rogers Regional Adult Education Program
P. O. Box 828 160 Opportunity Lane Abingdon, VA 24212 (276) 739-2547 FAX (276) 739-2572