Adult Learning Center
GED Test: Facts
- The GED (General Educational Development) Tests are a battery of five separate tests that reflect the core ingredients found in a high school curriculum. Subject areas are: writing, social studies, science, reading, and mathematics.
- By passing the GED Tests, a person earns a high school equivalency diploma and can pursue educational and employment opportunities requiring a high school diploma..
- The GED Tests are produced by the GED Testing Service of the America Council on Education, a non-profit agency, not the federal government.
- More than 680,000 adult women and men of all races and backgrounds took the tests last year. Roughly 430,000 earned diplomas based on passing the tests and 66% planned further study. In Virginia, 22,375 adults took the GED Tests last year, with almost 15,000 passing. In our region 263 adults passed the tests last year.
- In developing the tests, a thorough and rigorous process is used, relying heavily on the experience of high school teachers and curriculum specialists.
- The GED Tests are so demanding that between approximately 40 percent of graduating seniors can not earn a passing score.
- GED graduates are distinguishable from dropouts. By passing the tests, they document that they have the same level of academic knowledge and skills as traditional high school graduates.
- More than 91 percent of U.S. employers consider GED graduates the same as traditional high school graduates in regard to hiring, salary, and opportunity for advancement.
- GED graduates include: comedian Bill Cosby, actor Christian Slater, Delaware's Governor Ruth Ann Minner, and U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado.
- One out of every seven high school diplomas issued each year in the United States is based on passing the GED Tests