GED Test
The GED® Test
The General Educational Development (GED®) exam was developed to allow adults a "second opportunity" to prove acquisition of contemporary high school skills and life skills. For the thousands of Arkansans who have not completed high school, the issuance of the Arkansas High School Diploma based on the five GED subtests provides the opportunity to demonstrate academic skills at a high school level of competency.
The five GED subtests are designed for adults who have not finished high school, but who have gained knowledge and skills through life experiences, reading books and newspapers, listening to television and radio, etc. The tests are designed to measure general knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. The tests are in the areas of Language Arts/Writing, Social Studies, Science, Language Arts/Reading, and Mathematics.
The GED tests are both comprehensive and rigorous. Only 58% of graduating high school seniors nationwide are able to attain sufficient scores to qualify for the General Educational Development diploma. The Social Studies, Science, and Language Arts/Reading tests require the candidate to read passages or interpret graphic representations (diagrams, maps, etc.) and apply that information. The Math Test consists of solving word problems and working with fractions, decimals, percents, and algebraic and geometric functions. Math Test 1 allows for the use of the Casio FX-260 calculator. Math Test 2 does not allow the use of the calculator. The Language Arts/Writing Test is in two parts. Part 1 is multiple choice questions, and in Part 2 the examinee is required to write an essay. The essay is graded by a standard team of scorers and is geared toward the level of the graduating high school senior.
The GED diploma is accepted by most colleges and universities and provides adults who did not complete high school with an opportunity to pursue further education and training. The military accepts the GED diploma if other qualifying criteria are met. The GED diploma is well accepted by the business and industrial community.
