GED Certificate and Diploma High School - GED Testing

ARTICLES:

THE GED TEST!You are eligible to take the GED test:

If you are a resident of California and meet any one of the following criteria:

The individual is 18 years of age or older, or within 60 days of his or her 18th birthday (regardless of school enrollment status).

The individual must be within 60 days of when he or she would have graduated from high school had he or she remained in school and followed the usual course of study (please note that examinees testing under this criteria may not be enrolled in school).

The individual is 17 years of age, has been out of school for at least 60 consecutive school days, and provides a letter of request for the test from the military, a post-secondary educational institution or a prospective employer.

The individual is 17 years of age and is incarcerated in a California state or county correctional facility; persons testing under these conditions must meet all of the following criteria:

The examinee does not have a realistic chance of completing the requirements for a high school diploma.

The examinee has adequate academic skills to successfully complete the GED test battery.

The examinee understands the options available regarding acquisition of a high school diploma, the high school equivalency certificate or the high school proficiency certificate, and the requirements, expectations, benefits, and limitations of each option.

The examinee has sufficient commitment time left to complete the entire GED test battery; however, if released before the test is completed, the examinee may complete testing at an authorized testing center.

Identification needed to take the GED test.

All GED candidates requesting to take the GED Tests must document identity with valid identification when they appear at the test center, both at the time of registration and at the time of testing.

The identification must be current and include the examinee's name, date of birth, photograph, address and signature. Acceptable identification includes:

  • Driver's licenses issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
  • Identification cards issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
  • Identification cards issued by the military.
  • Identification cards issued by U.S. or foreign governments.
  • Passports issued by U.S. or foreign governments.
  • Identification cards issued by post-secondary schools.

 

Testing schedules are determined by local testing centers; the State GED Office does not maintain detailed scheduling information for individual centers. However, testing centers usually offer the test several times each month over a one- to three-day period (the entire test takes about seven-and-a-half hours to complete).

Remember, though, that schedules are based on testing demand--some centers in large urban areas may offer testing every day, while other centers in more isolated areas only test a few times annually.

Testing fees are also determined by local testing centers; the State GED Office does not maintain fee information for individual centers. On the average, though, testing centers will charge approximately $100 to take the entire test, though some centers will charge a higher or lower amount. Most centers will also charge a fee if all or part of the test must be re-taken.

Testing center fees include state and national fees plus the cost of materials, the cost of scoring the essay portion of the test, and some of the costs of test administration.

GED preparation materials are available at most local bookstores and public libraries. Many of the testing centers listed at this Web site also have preparation programs available without charge; however, if they do not, staff at the testing site should be able to provide you with a referral to a preparation program.

Most adult schools in California offer GED preparation classes as well. For information on adult school programs in your area, contact your local school district office.

Information on how to pass the test and what to do if failed.

Completed GED tests are forwarded to a centralized scoring location in Concord, California, and the results are posted to a secure internet site. Only authorized staff at Official GED Testing Centers have access to this site. The scoring site mails the High School Equivalency Certificate and an Official Report of Test Results to examinees who pass the test. The testing center mails an unofficial transcript to examiness who fail or do not complete the test.

GED scores for each subtest are reported as "standard scores" which range from 200 to 800 and percentile ranks ranging from 1 to 99; higher scores result from correctly answering more test questions.

To pass the GED Test in California, examinees must:

Receive a standard score of at least 410 on each of the five GED subtests, and

Earn an average standard score of 450 or higher.
If an examinee does not meet both these criteria for passing, the test is failed. The examinee may retake all or part of the test to attain passing scores. Testing centers may require examinees who fail the test to take preparation classes or wait a pre-determined amount of time before attempting to re-test. Examinees may test a maximum of three times on a given test in a single year.

Examinees who pass should receive the California High School Equivalency Certificate and an Official Report of Test Results within six to eight weeks from when they complete the test and it is submitted for scoring.