Developed by the American Council on Education, the GED, an acronym for General Educational Development, consists of a series of five tests. After the passing of GED, an equivalent to high school diploma the successful candidates are awarded Certificates of GED. Often people incorrectly refer to the GED as the General Equivalency Diploma or General Educational Diploma. There are many agencies in New York that provide GED programs.

Intended for students in the United States, US territories and Canada, GED is taken by those who have not graduated from high school. The tests are held throughout the United States, US territories or Canada. The GED came into being way back in 1942 in response to the American military’s request for a series of tests that can be used by the soldiers to prove their knowledge and education level. However with passage of time, GED became a popular high school alternative for a large number of students and today it is seen that a vast majority the candidates who appear at the GED are nonmilitary civilians. The revisions of the GED test have taken place several times in order to keep pace with the changing needs and requirements of the job market.

Passing the GED test opens many doors. A GED Certificate is highly valued by colleges, universities and employers in the US. Mainly two reasons impel the students to appear at the GED examination. First to continue their education by getting admission into the college and second to find an employment where a high school diploma is required.

The GED consists of a series of questions which test the different areas of knowledge: Reading, Writing, Science, Math and Social Studies. Seven sections – five fiction sections and two nonfiction sections- form the reading test. Each section consists of nearly three to four hundred words. The purpose of these sections is to measure the comprehension skills of the student.

The reading test contains 40 questions which must be finished in 65 minutes.

There are two components of the writing test. The first component measures the basic grammatical skills of the students. The GED candidates have to finish 50 questions in 75 minutes.

In the second component of the writing test, the students have to write an essay on a topic chosen by them from the options given. The candidate has 45 minutes to finish the essay. However if you finish the first part of the writing test in less than 75 minutes you can start on this component as soon as you complete part one.

The social studies test is designed to be used an indicator to determine the students’ knowledge of the social studies areas. The test consists of 50 questions that must be answered in 70 minutes.

The science test of GED is designed to determine the candidate’s knowledge of general science. The candidate has to answer 50 questions in 80 minutes. The math test is designed to determine the candidate’s knowledge of basic mathematical principles and concepts. The first component of the math test allows candidates to make use of a calculator. The math test consists of 50 questions that have to answered in 90 minutes.

The article above is part of our website blog and does not represent opinion or advice of Marissa A Barrera and other staff members.