So … how do you prove that your student is ready to graduate from high school? For many folks, it’s all about a test and one of the tests that comes to mind is the GED – the General Educational Development Test. The GED is used to determine if a student has the knowledge equivalent to that of ‘regular’ high school graduates. In other words, it is an equivalency test. While this is a viable option, it is not necessary and not a road that I automatically recommend.
There are positives and negatives associated with the GED.
Many famous people have taken the GED – the internet lists Michael J. Fox, Peter Jennings, Dave Thomas and Mary Lou Retton among the list of famous people who have taken the GED. But is it for you?
What the GED® is:
The GED is an equivalency test originally designed for soldiers who went to war before completing their high school course work. It tests a student in four subject areas: Science, Social Studies, Mathematical Reasoning and Reasoning through Language Arts. It is a rather involved battery of tests and will take a student at least seven hours to complete all of the sections. (You may take each subsection separately.) Just like the SAT, each section is scored from 200 to 800 and an acceptable score depends upon the institution to which you are reporting your scores – typically at least in the 400s.
A new version of the test was rolled out in January 2014 and has four content areas: literacy, mathematics, science and social studies that contain career- and college-readiness skills. If you have been following the dialogue on Common Core – then you know this is the central theme of the new common core standards.
What the GED® is not:
The GED is not proof that you have completed high school and the GED is not a required test. In today’s world, institutions and employers are familiar with homeschooling and will readily accept a parent-signed transcript as proof of high school graduation. But there may be a rare occasion where you find that in order to achieve some of your goals, you will be required to take the GED. Then, and only then, is when I recommend that you take this test.
And although, it really has no reason to, the GED carries a certain stigma with it as a test that belongs to those who have dropped out of high school.
If you do find that you need to take this test – here are some links to help you out:
Practice test
Finding a testing center in Florida: or contact your local state college
Prep Book: The Princeton Reviews Cracking the GED® Test
~to your success!
Joanne
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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