GED Programs and Passing Your Test The General Educational Development Test is an exam that attempts to determine whether an individual has attained standard high school level academic skills. This exam is designed for people who have yet to obtain their high school diploma. Individuals who pass the exam are awarded a Certificate of General Educational Development. The GED is administered by the American Council of Education through Departments of Education in individual states. The test can only be taken at official test centers across the country. These tests have rigid guidelines, so unfortunately, you cannot get your GED certification through an online process. Update The GED Test will be changing in 2014. The current version of the exam will end on December 31 of 2013 and all incomplete saved scores will expire too. So if you've already passed some parts of the test, make sure you plan on finishing by the end of this year, or you will need to start all over in 2014. The Exam Itself The test is a seven hour exam which is broken down into five separate smaller tests based on subject area: math, social studies, science, language arts reading and language arts writing. A student must pass each of the five tests. Most school districts do not require that all five exams be taken on the same day. The majority of the exam consists of answering questions using a multiple-choice format. Each correct answer is worth one point. For each individual test, these points are totaled and then converted to a standard score, which ranges from 200 to 800. Candidates need a standard score of at least 410 in each of the GED tests in order to pass the GED Tests and an overall average score of 450 for the five-test GED battery. Part II of the language arts exam is the writing section. Students are required here to write an essay that must contain at least five paragraphs supporting a thesis statement assigned by the test itself. Help with Passing the Test Most people do not pass the test on the first try. Only 3 out of every 10 students pass all five exams on their first try. Most local boards of education encourage students to enroll in a preparation course either at a local classroom on a weekly basis or through individual independent study. Two of the popular independent study preparation services include Pass GED and Ged For Me. Community Colleges and Vocational Schools Can Help: Community Colleges such as Schenectady County Community College, in Schenectady, New York, and Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington, can help students prepare for the test by taking Adult Basic Education courses in the subjects they need to work on. Schenectady County Community College offers day and evening courses designed specifically to significantly improve success rates on the GED exam. Course emphasis is on building students basic reading, writing and math skills. Read more about Schenectady County. Lower Columbia College is also an official GED Testing Center. Read more about Lower Columbia College. Thinking about homeschooling your child? Well, it can be a terrific experience. It takes dedication and discipline from both the parents and the child, but the academic and personal results can be outstanding. American Council of Education is the major organization coordinating all the nation's higher education institutions. GED practice exam to find out more about GED practice courses and online tests. GED exam study help company has pre-test help through classes and study guides. GED practice service for assistance via online and print preparation programs. Earning your high school diploma online has details on earning a high school diploma online. Privacy and site use policies if you would like to read our website's visitor use terms, conditions and privacy policy. Contact us offers details on contacting this website via email. Copyright ©2006-2013 GEDPrograms.org All rights are reserved.		A popular option to taking the GED test is to complete your high school diploma through online study. Learn more.