Definition of a GED Education
Overseen by the American Council on Education (ACE), the Tests of General Educational Development---more commonly known as the GED---is a high school equivalency exam for both U.S. and non-U.S. students who have not graduated from high school (or its foreign equivalent, depending upon country). The GED Testing Service offers the credential in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, in Canada and at international locations throughout the world.
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History
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Created in 1942 at the request of the U.S. military, the original purpose of GED testing was to offer World War II veterans the chance to earn a high school equivalency diploma and attend college. Civilians began taking the test in 1947, when New York State implemented a program that would award a high school equivalency diploma to anyone who passed the GED.
Subjects
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The GED test consists of five subject areas: language arts-reading, language arts-writing, social studies, science and mathematics. The language arts-writing questions are spread over two sections, one asks test-takers to revise and edit documents according to proper sentence structure, grammar, mechanics, spelling and paragraph organization, and a second section that asks test-takers to write an opinion-based or explanatory essay on a provided topic in 45 minutes.
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Test Questions
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Test questions in the various subject matters measure students' cognitive skills in five areas: analysis, application, comprehension, evaluation and synthesis. Questions are based on Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in which questions that require higher cognitive skills (evaluation and synthesis) will draw upon skills used in lower-level questions (comprehension).
Understanding Scores
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A passing score on the GED is a combined score across sections of 2,250, and scores in individual subject sections must be 410 or greater (with each correct answer worth one point). In addition to a standard combined score, students also earn a percentage score that is converted from the standard score. A student who ranks in the 80th percentile, for example, ranks higher than 80 percent of graduating high school seniors in terms of skills and knowledge.
Online Testing
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Despite the many websites that claim otherwise, ACE does not certify or recognize any online versions of the GED test. Students must take the GED in person at an accredited testing center, and students can search the ACE website for accredited local testing centers. The GED is a credential for employment and college enrollment that is accepted by 98 percent of colleges and 96 percent of employers, according to the ACE, so students should be wary of any website that advertises online tests or alternatives to the GED test as they may be harming future educational and employment prospects
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit graduate girl image by Maria Bell from Fotolia.com
