This chapter summarizes the structure, scoring, and look and feel of the GED® test, and provides important information about other available resources.
The GED® test is actually four tests that you can take in one day or over a series of days. Many people refer to it as a high school equivalency test because when you pass the test, you earn a credential that most colleges and employers recognize as the equivalent of a high school diploma.
The questions on the test come in several formats, which we’ll describe in Chapter 3. The questions are supposed to measure your knowledge of some of the subjects taught in high school. However, the GED® test writers don’t expect you to remember specific details. For example, you will not be asked what year Columbus first arrived in the Americas or which planet is farthest away from the sun. If the test writers want to ask about Columbus, they will first provide you with a short reading passage about him, and then they will ask questions based on that passage. If the test writers want to ask about the planets, they will first give you a diagram of the solar system and then ask you questions based on that diagram.
1. Reasoning Through Language Arts
(150 minutes, approximately 51 questions)
• Section 1 (35 minutes)
• Section 2: One Extended Response question (45 minutes)
• Break (10 minutes)
• Section 3 (60 minutes)
Sections 1 and 3 will contain a mixture of grammar and reading comprehension questions. There will be six to eight reading passages with approximately six questions each and two language passages with four drop-down questions in each. The questions for the reading passages will be multiple choice or drag and drop. The reading texts will be in this approximate distribution:
Informational Texts: 75%
Literature: 25%
In Section 2, you’ll be asked to write an essay analyzing two passages that present different views on the same subject. You’ll be asked to develop an opinion and support that opinion with specific examples from the text.
2. Mathematical Reasoning
(115 minutes, 46 questions)
• Part 1 (first 5 questions): calculator not allowed
• Part 2 (remaining 41 questions): calculator allowed
The Mathematical Reasoning test comes in two parts. In the first, you will not be allowed to use a calculator. In the second, you will have access to the on-screen calculator. The first section will test your ability to do basic calculations. In the second section, you will be asked to answer questions common in many work scenarios.
Many of these will be word problems. About one-half of the questions will be based on diagrams or charts. These questions come in several formats including multiple choice, fill in the blank, drag and drop, hot spot, and drop down. The test will encompass the following mathematical concepts:
Quantitative Problem Solving (arithmetic, averages, ratios, etc.): 45%
Algebraic Problem Solving: 55%
3. Social Studies
(70 minutes, approximately 35 questions)
You will find a mixture of passages, charts, graphs, and maps. The questions will be in multiple-choice, hot-spot, drag-and-drop, and fill-in-the-blank formats. The test will cover the following areas of social studies:
Government and Civics: 50%
United States History: 20%
Economics: 15%
Geography: 15%
4. Science
(90 minutes, 1 section of approximately 34 questions)
The questions will be based on a variety of information ranging from short passages to graphs and charts. The questions will be in multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, drop-down, drag-and-drop, and hot-spot formats. The answers to the questions are almost always supplied in the passages or graphic materials. You need only a general knowledge of scientific principles. The questions will be about these general areas of science:
Life Science: 40%
Physics and Chemistry: 40%
Earth and Space Science: 20%
The GED Testing Service does not require that students take the test all in one sitting. However, each state has its own rules about this. To find out what your state’s policies are, visit https://ged.com/policies.
For each of the four tests, you will receive a score between 100 and 200. Because each test has a different number of available points, the GED Testing Service will standardize your raw scores (or the number of questions you answered correctly for each test) through a scoring metric to yield a score between 100 and 200. It’s important to remember that there is no penalty for wrong answers or questions left blank, so it is to your advantage to record an answer to every question.
The minimum score needed to pass any of the four subject tests on the GED® test is 145. In order to receive your completion certificate, you must achieve at least this score on each test. A higher score on one test will not make up for a lower score on another. While a passing score is sufficient to obtain your certificate, you may want to strive for a score of at least 165. Such a score entitles you to a GED® College-Ready Score, a distinction that indicates college and career readiness. And if you achieve a score of at least 175, you’ll receive the GED® College Ready + Credit designation, which means that in addition to being ready to take college courses, you qualify for up to 10 hours of college credit.
Once you receive a passing score on a test, you do not need to retake that test. If you want to retake the test to receive a higher score, you may do so.
If you do not receive your desired score on a particular test, you can retake that test two more times without any waiting period, subject to scheduling availability. After the third attempt, you will have to wait 60 days to test again. This schedule allows for eight testing opportunities in a year, if you need that many to pass a section.
The best ways to register are to call the information number for your state and/or visit the website www.ged.com. Once you have registered on the site, you will be emailed a letter with instructions on how to schedule your exam online. If you’ve been taking a preparation course, your teacher may take care of registration for you, but check to make sure this is the case. The tests are administered year-round, and the new online format allows for a lot more flexibility in scheduling, but in some of the larger states, it may take awhile for you to get a test date. In most states, it now costs money to take the GED® test—most states charge around $30–$40 per test subject, although some charge less and others more.
For information on registering to take the GED® test and for classes in your area, call 877-392-6433 (877-EXAM-GED). To reach the individual state programs directly, go online to www.ged.com where you can type in your ZIP code to find the nearest testing centers and programs.
The GED® test is taken on a computer at a testing center.
In some cases, a question will appear on a single screen. In other cases, there will be a split screen, with a passage, chart, or other information on one side and the question on the other. At the bottom of each screen, you may click to move to the prior screen or the next screen. At the top, the question number, total number of questions, and time remaining for the test are shown.
You are able to highlight text, change the foreground and background colors, and adjust the font size. You may also flag a question for later review.
For questions that require you to write, you will have access to cut, copy, and paste functions, as well as undo and redo. Where appropriate, an on-screen calculator is provided, as is a mathematical formulas sheet.
A useful feature to help you keep track is the review screen. This screen, which is available at any time during the test, indicates which questions you have answered, which you have left blank, and which you have not read. It also indicates which questions you have marked for later review. From the review screen you can quickly jump to any questions that have been marked or left unanswered by clicking on the question number.
Here’s an example of what your review screen will look like:
It is good practice to leave a few minutes at the end of each section of each test to check the review screen to make sure you have answered every question or to look up questions that you marked for later review. For any question you need to answer or revisit, you can click on the question number to go directly to the question. Remember that there is no guessing penalty, so do not leave any questions unanswered.
When you take the test, you will not have scratch paper. Rather, you will be provided with three erasable note boards, which are laminated pieces of thick cardboard, each the size of a sheet of legal paper (8.5 by 14 inches)—a little bit larger than a standard piece of notebook paper. You will be given one at the beginning of your test, along with a dry-erase marker. If the marker runs out of ink or dries up, you may ask for a new one.
Using a note board rather than writing directly on a test booklet takes practice. Get into the habit of working with practice scratch paper from the start (assuming that you don’t have access to an erasable note board at home).
We recommend that you lay out a note-board strategy as outlined in the different sections of this book. You will have to transfer most of the information on the screen to a note board to work the problems. This is especially true for the Mathematical Reasoning test. Having a consistent way of transferring that information in an organized fashion will help you perform better on the exam.
It is important to note that only three note boards are allowed at a time. While you may use the front and back, you may have to erase work you did earlier once you’ve covered the entire surface of all three. A good rule of thumb is to always try to completely finish a problem before you move on to the next, to ensure you don’t have to restart a problem from, well, scratch.
One of the great features of a computer-based test is that you will receive your scores very quickly. In most cases you will receive your score within three hours of completion of each of the four tests.
There are a few exceptions to this: your test center may be late in uploading your test data, or your test may be flagged by the computer for manual scoring. If your test is flagged for manual scoring, it doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with your exam, or that you did anything wrong. It simply means that the computer randomly chose your exam to assure accuracy in scoring. If your test is flagged for manual scoring, your score should be available to you in three business days.
In either case, your scores will be available on MyGED™ at www.ged.com.
While the practice tests in this book are closely modeled on the types of questions you’ll see on the GED® test, there are some key differences you should know about.
We’ve slightly adapted the GED® test’s computer-based question formats to allow you to answer them without needing a mouse and keyboard. See the general directions at the beginning of Part IX for more information.
As we mentioned earlier, GED Testing Service uses a formula to standardize your raw score. Unfortunately, this formula isn’t publicly available.
If you want to score your work on the practice tests, you are welcome to tally up your raw score—the number of questions you answered correctly. This should give you a rough idea of how well you did. However, this does not translate into a measure of your readiness to take the GED® test. In other words, we can’t promise you that you are likely to pass if you get a certain number of questions right.
Fortunately, we can point you to the best available indicator of how well you’ll do: GED Ready®: The Official Practice Test.
GED Ready® was written by the test creators and gives you the full computer-based experience, as well as an Enhanced Score Report. Although GED Ready® is only half the length of the actual GED® test and doesn’t require the same level of endurance, it will give you accurate feedback on your mastery of the content and required skills. You’ll be able to access your score report within about an hour of completing the test.
Because you bought this book, you are entitled to a 20% discount off the price of GED Ready®. To access the discount and this feature, visit www.gedmarketplace.com/theprincetonreview.
If you are looking for additional support, here are several resources.
PrincetonReview.com—If you register this book at PrincetonReview.com, you will have free access, via your Student Tools, to 350 more questions via eight computer-based multiple-choice drills, organized by subject. We have also provided, for extra practice, some Mathematical Reasoning Drills for the topics students tend to struggle with most.
If you’re thinking about college, check out our exclusive interview with an admissions counselor, who offers valuable insights on the GED® test credential and college success. In addition, the college section of PrincetonReview.com contains detailed profiles of colleges, ranking lists, and a free dynamic search engine to help you identify your best fit college. We also publish several books on colleges that you may find useful.
More Great Books—For more practice, check out 5 Practice Exams for the GED® Test, which gives you five full-length tests.
GED.com—The official website for the GED® test contains a wealth of free useful information, such as test specifications, rules and testing prices by state, and previews of the test in each subject.
