GED Compass | What is the GED?

What is the GED Test?

Important: GED Tests Cannot Be Taken Online. In New York State there is no charge to take the GED test. The GED Tests are only given at official GED Testing Centers approved by the New York State Education Department. There is no online or computer-based GED testing available at the present time. Do not be fooled by misleading ads on other websites.

GED stands for General Educational Development. The GED test is a national test developed by the GED Testing Service of the American Council on Education (ACE). The GED Test is for people who did not graduate from high school. In New York State there is no charge to take the GED test. The GED test is also for people who have diplomas that New York State does not recognize. The GED test shows that people who do not have a high school diploma have the knowledge and skills that are the same as what is needed to graduate from high school. In New York State, the GED tests are given in English, French and Spanish. The current GED test is a set of five tests. The five test parts are:

Language Arts Writing

This test has two parts.

Part I - You will read parts of real-life documents. These may be emails, resumes, reports, or other things you read in everyday life. As you look at the documents, you will be asked to correct them. This may include fixing grammar mistakes, sentence construction, spelling or other writing problems. TIME: 75 minutes. There are 50 multiple choice questions.

Part II - You will write a short essay on an assigned topic. The topic will be something familiar to most adults.

TIME: 45 minutes to write your essay.

Language Arts Reading

For the reading test you will be asked to read something. It could be a part of a play, essay or story. It might be a review of a movie or TV show. You will then be multiple choice questions, and you will need to select the best answer that summarizes what the passage is about. The test may ask you to give different wording to give details or give the best explanation for part or all of what you have read, give details in a different way or explain what you have read. You could be asked to apply what you have read in a different setting or situation.

TIME: 65 minutes. There are 40 multiple choice questions.

Math

The math test has two parts.

Part I – In this part you can use a special calculator. It is called the Casio FX-260 Solar calculator. You do not have to buy it or bring it to the test. The test center will have one there for you to use.

Part II – You cannot use the calculator for this part of the test. This test identifies how well you know addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Questions that have some geometry, algebra, data analysis, number operations, and problem solving will be included in both parts of the test.

TIME: 90 minutes. There are 50 multiple choice questions and some questions may require you to place the answers on a grid.

Science

In this test you will use critical thinking skills, reading skills, and your ability to interpret visual data (charts and graphs) to answer questions. The topics are Life Science, Earth and Space Science and Physical Science.

TIME: 80 minutes. There are 50 multiple choice questions

Social Studies

In this test you will be asked to show that you understand maps, charts, political cartoons, speeches, articles, and photographs. The test covers Economics, Geography, Civics and Government, and United States and World History.

The GED test with all its sub parts take over seven hours to finish. This does not include breaks and check-in time. A test-taker will be at the test site for about 10 hours. In New York City, students usually take the Test over two days.

ESL Test

In addition to the five parts mentioned above, there is a test of English proficiency (ESL Test) which is given to test takers who take the GED Tests in Spanish or French. When test-takers pass the GED Tests in Spanish or French in New York State, they get a NY State High School Equivalency diploma that shows that they took the test in Spanish or French. If you pass the ESL Test, you get a GED diploma which is exactly the same as those earned by people who pass the English GED Test.

Please Note: The GED Tests are only given at official GED Testing Centers approved by the New York State Education Department. There is no online or computer-based GED testing available. Do not be fooled by misleading ads on other websites.