Testing Center

GED® Testing

What is the GED® test?

The GED® (General Education Development) is a series of five tests that measure knowledge and skills typically learned in high school.

For registration and testing information, contact the Testing Center.

Note: The current version of the GED® test is expiring at the end of 2013. Your scores will expire if you don’t finish and pass the test before January 1, 2014. The new GED® test will be aligned with current high school curriculum.

GED® Testing Schedule

Daytime Sessions
9:00am - 2:00pm		 Retake Testing
9:00am Mathematics
11:30am Science, Social Studies, or Reading
1:00pm Writing
  • January 16 & 17, 2013
  • February 6 & 7, 2013
  • March 6 & 7, 2013
  • April 10 & 11, 2013
  • June 5 & 6, 2013
  • July 10 & 11, 2013
  • August 7 & 8, 2013
  • September 11 & 12, 2013
  • October 9 & 10, 2013
  • November 13 & 14, 2013
  • February 27, 2013
  • June 12, 2013
  • September 4, 2013
  • November 20, 2013

GED® Test Registration Fee

GED® Test registration fee is $150. Seating is limited to 20 candidates per test session. You must register and pay in advance. The test fee is nonrefundable. No late admittance to test session will be permitted. Retakes are $30 for each exam.

To register for the June 5 & 6, 2013 exam, please come to Room 222 of the McDowell Center on Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. Bring your $150 payment (cash, check or credit card) and a government-issued, photo ID. You must know your social security number and have an email address. Registration takes approximately 30 minutes and involves creating an official, online GED account. If the June session fills up, you may sign up for the July test. If you are under 18 years old, please call 734-462-4806 for further requirements.

Requirements for GED® Testing

  • State or government photo identification verifying age and social security number are required for admission to the test session.
  • To be eligible for a GED certificate, candidates must be 18 years old and their high school class must have graduated. The State of Michigan sends GED® certificates to passing students when requirements have been fulfilled.

GED® Preparation

GED® Information

Passing the GED®
  • The passing standard score must be not less than 410 on EACH of the five tests.
  • The candidate must attain an average standard score of 450 for all five tests.
What will the five tests cover?
  • Day 1:
    • Language Arts, Writing Tests (2 parts):
      • Part 1: 50 items, 75 minutes
      • Part 2: Essay, 45 minutes
    • Mathematics Test (2 parts):
      • Part 1: 25 items, 45 minutes, calculator*
      • Part 2: 25 items, 45 minutes, no calculator
  • Day 2:
    • Social Studies Test (50 items, 70 minutes)
    • Science Test (50 items, 80 minutes)
    • Reading Information Test (40 items, 65 minutes)

*Note: Each GED® candidate is responsible for knowing how to use the official Casio fx260 solar calculator before coming to test. Schoolcraft College will provide the calculators for the test.

What do the GED® tests measure?

The GED® exam consists of five tests which measure achievement in subject areas associated with a high school program of study. The five tests, and their relative content emphases, are:

  1. Writing - Part 1: Sentence Structure (30%); Usage (30%); Mechanics (25%); Part 2: Essay
  2. Social Studies - National History (25%); Economics (20%); Civics and Government (25%); World History (15%); Geography (15%)
  3. Science - Life Sciences (45%); Earth and Space (20%); Physics and Chemistry (35%)
  4. Reading - Literary Test (75%); Nonfiction Prose (25%)
  5. Mathematics - Numbers, Number sense and Operations (25%); Measurement and Geometry (25%); Data, Statistics and Probability (25%); Algebra, Functions, and Patterns (25%)

The tests are taken by people who have not graduated from high school and who wish to demonstrate a level of educational achievement sufficient to earn a high school credential. The tests are administered regularly at more than 3,000 locations throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Interpreting GED® test results

Performance on the GED® Tests is reported in two ways.

(1) Standard scores & percentile ranks

Results on each of the five GED® Tests are given as "standard scores" ranging From 200 to 800 and "percentile ranks" ranging from 1 to 99: higher scores result from correctly answering more test questions. Both scores compare the examinee's results to those for a recent representative national sample of high school seniors. The average standard score for graduating high school seniors is 500; therefore, standard scores above 500 are above those of the typical high school graduate. The percentile ranks show the percent of the graduating seniors who earned scores at or below those of about 30 percent of the seniors.

Each state, province and territory sets its own minimum scores for earning a high school equivalency credential. These minimum scores require examinees to earn scores as high as those of a least 27% of the recent high school graduates. If the examinee's scores meet or exceed the minimum required, the "Passed" box is marked. If not, the "failed" box is marked. Examinees who do not pass can retake the GED® Tests in order to raise their scores. The local chief examiner can provide information about retesting. Generally, further study is recommended in those subjects in which standard scores below 350 are earned. Local adult education programs often provide preparation classes as an aid in improving performance.

A detailed description of the tests and score scales is given in the GEDTS publication The Official Teacher's Guide to Tests of General Education Development, available from Steck-Vaughn Company Inc., 10801 No. Mopac Expressway, Austin, TX 78759