How to Get a GED in Wisconsin

Wisconsin allows you to get your GED if you meet certain eligibility requirements.

According to the official GED (general equivalency diploma) page of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, "15% of Wisconsin adults over 25 (approximately 500,000) do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent." Getting your GED can allow you to get a better job, enroll in college or simply feel academically fulfilled. The GED in Wisconsin has five sections: language arts, science, social studies, math and reading. All of the questions are multiple-choice, except for the second part of the language arts section, which requires test takers to write an essay.

Instructions

1. Verify that you are eligible to take the GED in Wisconsin. To take the GED in Wisconsin, you have be one of the following: a registered Wisconsin voter or have lived in Wisconsin for 10 days; 18 years or older; a migrant worker or a child of migrant workers. You cannot be enrolled in high school at the time you take the test.

2. Visit the official GED page of the website of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction at "Dpi.wi.gov/ged_hsed."

3. Click on the link that says "Wisconsin GED and HSED Testing Centers." Call the testing center nearest you and schedule an orientation time, an appointment with a counselor and a time to take the reading assessment test.

4. Decide if you will self-prepare for the GED or if you will take preparation classes. Your counselor can help you make that decision based on the results of your reading assessment exam.

5. Tell the testing center you'd like to register for the GED at its facility. Pick a date, depending upon how much time you want to prepare for the exam, and pay $15 plus any additional fees the center might have.

6. Take the exam and get a score of at least 410 or higher on all of the five sections of the test. The facility will mail you your GED diploma.

Tips & Warnings

• If you show your counselor at the GED testing center your high school transcript, she may determine that you don't have to take the reading assessment exam.

References

• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction: GED
• Education Portal: Wisconsin GED

Resources

• Department of Public Instruction: Testing Centers