To earn your GED, you must successfully complete six subtests: Language Arts (Writing Parts 1 and 2), Language Arts (Reading), Mathematics, Social Studies, and Science. Scores range from 200 to 800. While each state sets its own passing score, generally, you need a minimum of 410 on each subtest and an overall average of 450 to pass. Once you pass a section, you don’t need to retake it, allowing you to focus on the remaining areas. Unlike High School Exit Exams, which primarily test Math and Language Arts, the GED is more comprehensive, assessing knowledge across five core academic disciplines.
The Language Arts test consists of three sections: Writing Part 1, Writing Part 2, and Reading.
Writing Part 1
This section comprises 50 multiple-choice questions and lasts 75 minutes. It focuses on grammar and proofreading skills.
- 30% tests sentence structure: parallelism, modifiers, fragments, run-ons, and comma splices.
- 30% assesses word usage: subject/verb agreement, tense errors, and pronoun errors.
- 25% covers mechanics: punctuation, capitalization, and spelling.
- 15% evaluates organizational ability: proofreading, coherence, unity, and sentence placement.
Writing Part 2
This section requires you to write an essay in 45 minutes on a given topic, with scores ranging from 1 to 4. Two independent readers score the essay, and the scores are averaged. A minimum score of 2 is needed to pass. If you score 2 or higher, your essay score is combined with your multiple-choice writing score to form a composite Writing section score. The essay is evaluated on:
- Response to prompt
- Organization
- Development and details
- Word choice
- Adherence to standard English conventions
Using specific examples from history and literature can enhance your score.
Reading
This section consists of 40 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 65 minutes. Questions are based on 200-400 word reading passages and 8-25 line poems.
- 75% of passages are fiction, and 25% are non-fiction.
- 20% tests basic comprehension: main idea and rephrasing information.
- 15% tests application of information to different situations.
- 30-35% tests analysis: drawing conclusions, cause and effect, and assumptions.
- 30-35% tests synthesis and interpretation of multiple inferences.
Social Studies
This test covers information from US History, World History, Economics, and Civics and Government, with some Geography questions. Questions are based on knowledge, historical documents (e.g., the Constitution), and practical documents (e.g., tax forms).
- 20% of questions are based on maps and text.
- 80% are based on prose and visual text (e.g., maps, political cartoons).
- You have 50 minutes to answer 70 questions.
Science
This test comprises 50 questions to be answered in 80 minutes. It assesses knowledge in Earth and Space Science, Life Science, and Physical Science.
- 20% covers Earth and Space Science: Earth’s energy, origin and evolution, and geothermal cycles.
- 45% covers Life Science: cell, heredity, evolution, interdependence, and systems.
- 35% covers Physical Science: atoms, matter, chemical reactions, motion, forces, energy conservation, and energy interactions.