by Sassy Jones

Created on: October 27, 2009

High school is not for everyone, yet having a high school diploma is necessary for gaining almost any employment, especially in the current job climate. The GED, known as both the General Education Diploma or General Equivalency Diploma, bridges the gap between those who, for whatever reason, do not want or are not able to meet the requirements to finish high school but do want a diploma or to go on to higher education. Most colleges and universities in the United States accept the GED in lieu of a high school diploma when considering applicants.

To earn your GED, you need to pass the six subtests in Language Arts: Writing Parts 1 and 2, Language Arts: Reading, Mathematics, Social Students, and Science. Scores can range between 200 and 800. Each state can set its own passing score, but generally you need a score of 410 on each subtest with an overall average score of 450 to pass. Once you have passed a section of the test, you do not have to take it again and can concentrate on the other sections.

Opposed to the High School Exit Exams, which test Math and Language Arts, the GED is more encompassing, requiring students to demonstrate knowledge in the five core academic areas. To gauge the test, you can find sample questions on-line at http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ged/tes t/prep/Prepare_GED.html.

Language Arts

The Language Arts test has three sections: Writing Part I, Writing Part 2, and Reading.

Writing Part I

The first section of the Writing test has 50 multiple choice questions and lasts 75 minutes. The questions all focus on grammar and proofreading skills. Thirty percent of this section is on sentence structure, testing knowledge of parallelism, modifiers, fragments, run-ons, and comma splices. Another thirty percent of the section assesses word usage comprehension including subject/verb agreement, tense errors, and pronoun errors. Mechanics including punctuation, capitalization, and spelling, account for twenty-five percent of the questions. The final fifteen percent tests organizational ability, having students proofread text for spelling, edit for coherence and unity, and revise the position of sentences within paragraphs.

Writing Part 2

Part two of the Writing test requires you to write a essay in 45 minutes on a given topic and you can receive a score from 1 to 4. Two readers independently read and score the essay; the scores are averaged together. A threshold of 2 must be reached on the essay or you have to take the test again. If you

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