GED TESTING FAQ (Frequently asked questions)

1. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
For students enrolled in our Intensive English Program, there is NO EXTRA COST to take the GED preparatory classes.

2. HOW OLD DO I HAVE TO BE?
Any student 17 years old may take the test, but you may begin studying for it at Spring at the age of 16.

3. WHY SHOULD I STUDY GED AT SPRING?
If you need a high school diploma and English is not your first language, then Spring is an ideal place to prepare for the GED. Our classes are small and each student is given individual assistance. Our teachers are highly qualified and experienced. You can study GED subjects at the same time as improving your English skills.

4. HOW MANY TESTS ARE THERE?  
There are five tests:

Test 1- Writing Skills - 50 questions and an essay of 200 words - 75 minutes, plus 45 minutes

Test 2- Social Studies - 50 questions - 80 minutes

Test 3- Science - 50 questions - 80 minutes

Test 4- Literature and the Arts- 40 questions - 65 minutes

Test 5- Mathematics- 50 questions - 90 minutes

5. HOW LONG WILL TESTING TAKE?  
We suggest taking only one test at a time. The tests may be completed in three or four days or the tests may be completed over a span of a month or more according to the student's needs or ability.

6. WHEN WILL I TAKE THE TESTS?  
The GED preparatory class teacher will pretest each student to help him determine when he is prepared to take each official GED test. The other tests are taken as agreed upon by the instructor and the student. We discourage students from taking the tests before they demonstrate the ability to pass them.

7. WHERE WILL I TAKE THE TESTS?  
The tests are given at an official testing center by an authorized person not affiliated with Spring International.  The student will pay $60 to the test center for the official tests.

8. WHO MAY TAKE THE TESTS?  
Persons seventeen and older who have not finished high school may take the test.

9. IS IT DIFFICULT TO PASS?  
Foreign students usually study in the GED program for one to two terms before obtaining the required score.

10. WHAT IS A PASSING SCORE?  
A total of 2,250 points is required. In addition, each test must have a score of at least 400. These scores are a special scoring system for this test and do not represent percentages.

11. WHAT IF I FAIL?  
If a student doesn't have a passing score after taking all five tests, he may take the tests again beginning with the test which has the lowest score. Any test on which the student scores lower than 400 must be retaken. If a student's scores continue to be low, his teacher will advise him before he continues.

12. HOW MANY TIMES MAY I TAKE EACH TEST?  
Each test may be taken three times in one year.

13. CAN I TAKE THE GED IN MY LANGUAGE? 
The test is also offered in Spanish and French. We don't offer preparation courses if you want to take it in these languages, but we have pretests in these languages and will help connect you with the testing centers. NOTE: Colleges still require you to have a college-level understanding of English for entrance.

TEST 1- THE WRITING SKILLS TEST:  
The Writing Skills Test tests a student's ability to recognize and write standard English. There are two parts to the test, a multiple-choice section and an essay. The first part tests sentence structure, usage, organization, punctuation, and capitalization. There are long passages in which the student is asked to identify and correct errors. In the second part of the test, the student will be asked to write a 200 word essay on an assigned topic. The readers who score the essay will check for organized thoughts and writing that is clear and correct.

TEST 2- THE SOCIAL STUDIES TEST:  
The Social Studies Test is made up of questions from areas of United States history, political science, economics, geography, and behavioral science. The student will be required to read long passages as well as articles on social issues. In addition, the student will be asked questions about maps, graphs, charts, and political cartoons. Some questions are designed to test knowledge of broad concepts or trends.

TEST 3- THE SCIENCE TEST:  
The Science Test includes questions on life science and physical. The test tests the student's ability to understand readings in a specialized field. In addition to long scientific readings, the reader will be asked to answer questions about diagrams and charts. Some questions are not related to a reading passage or a diagram but will allow the student to demonstrate common-sense general knowledge of how science works. These questions are often related to basic scientific principles of which everyday experiences have made the reader aware.

TEST 4- THE TEST OF INTERPRETING LITERATURE AND THE ARTS:  
The Test of Interpreting Literature and the Arts has reading selections of several different types. There are questions on passages from short stories, essays, novels,plays, poetry, and commentaries of literary works. The questions that follow a reading may ask for a conclusion, the meaning of the passage, the mood or tone, or the meaning of a work within the passage.

TEST 5-THE MATHEMATICS TEST:  
On the Mathematics Test, students will be asked arithmetic, algebra, and geometry questions.  Many of these questions are word problems, so the student must be able to read and understand sentences that convey information about numbers.  Calculators will be provided for half of the test.  The other half must be completed without a calculator.

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