Ged Guide Examinees

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A GUIDE FOR

GED EXAMINEES

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

THE GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT TESTS

July 2006- Revised -


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A GUIDE FOR GED EXAMINEES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WHAT ARE THE GED TESTS?......................................................................... 1WHY WRITE THE GED TESTS?....................................................................... 1WHO ACCEPTS THE GED CERTIFICATE?....................................................... 1DO I NEED TO STUDY FOR THE TESTS?........................................................ 2WHO MAY TAKE THE TESTS?......................................................................... 2WHAT IS ON THE GED TESTS? ......................................................................2LANGUAGE ARTS WRITING ............................................................................ 2SOCIAL STUDIES............................................................................................ 3SCIENCE ........................................................................................................3LANGUAGE ARTS READING ........................................................................... 3MATHEMATICS............................................................................................... 3HOW DO I APPLY TO TAKE THE TESTS? ........................................................ 4WHEN ARE THE GED TESTS WRITTEN? ........................................................ 4FEES .............................................................................................................. 4WHERE WILL THE TESTS BE HELD? .............................................................5

SPECIAL EDITIONS OF THE GED TESTS........................................................ 6SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS TO WRITE THE GED TESTS. ........................... 6WHAT DO I BRING TO THE TESTS?................................................................ 6WHAT IS THE TESTING PROCEDURE?........................................................... 7HOW LONG DO THE TESTS TAKE TO WRITE? ............................................... 7HOW AND WHEN WILL I BE NOTIFIED OF THE RESULTS?............................ 8HOW ARE THE RESULTS REPORTED?........................................................... 8CAN I TAKE THE TESTS AGAIN?..................................................................... 8HOW CAN I GET EXTRA COPIES OF MY MARKS?........................................... 9APPENDIX A .................................................................................................... IAPPENDIX B .................................................................................................. III


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WHAT ARE THE GEDTESTS?

The General Educational Development(GED) Tests are five multiple-choicetests in the areas of language arts

writing, language arts reading, socialstudies, science, and mathematics.The language arts writing test alsorequires the writing of an essay.

The GED is primarily a reading test thatis designed to measure the skills that

you would have normally gainedthrough twelve years of formaleducation: the ability to understand andapply information; to evaluate, analyze,and draw conclusions; and to express

ideas and opinions in writing. Whenyou have passed the five tests, you willreceive a British Columbia SecondarySchool Equivalency Certificate.

By passing the tests, GED certificateholders demonstrate they possessacademic abilities that are equivalentto those of secondary school graduates.It will show that you have the potentialof a secondary school graduate tosucceed in further study or job

situations; however, specific knowledge(mathematical and scientific formulas,specific literary works, etc.) is nottested. Your results on the GED testswill demonstrate how well you havedone compared to the performance ofrecent secondary school graduates.The British Columbia SecondarySchool Equivalency Certificate is notthe same as secondary schoolgraduation and cannot be consideredas a substitute for it.

The GED Testing Service inWashington, D.C., originally developedthe tests but the Canadian version hasbeen adapted to Canadian standards.

WHY WRITE THE GEDTESTS?

These tests are intended to help adultswho did not graduate from secondaryschool improve their academic or

vocational standing. By successfullycompleting the GED tests, you willindicate that you have the necessaryskills, ability, and determination topursue a high level of achievement.People write the GED tests for manyreasons:

to qualify for a better job

to gain promotion within their ownorganization

to apply for admission to

educational and traininginstitutions

for personal satisfaction

WHO ACCEPTS THE GEDCERTIFICATE?

GED certificates are awarded in all ofthe Canadian provinces and territories,except Quebec, and all of the Americanstates and its territories.

In some jurisdictions, GED test scoresare accepted as being equivalent tosecondary school graduationrequirements for the purposes ofemployment, promotion, and licensing.Some post-secondary institutions alsoaccept GED test scores in place ofcompleted secondary school transcriptsfor admission purposes. However, ifyou plan to use the GED certificatefor college/university entrance or fora job application, you should first

determine that it will be acceptableand meet the necessary standards orspecific prerequisites before youapply to write the GED tests.


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DO INEED TO STUDY FOR THE TESTS?

Many private companies offer GEDpreparatory courses. You do NOTneedto take a class or course to be

eligible to write the GED tests.

The basic premise behind the GEDTesting Service is that learning is acontinual process and the GED testsoffer an opportunity for adults todemonstrate the learning they haveaccomplished since leaving school. Thetests are designed to measure yourability to understand and reason ratherthan test you on facts. Many peoplehave found it helpful to enroll in a

course or borrow library materials torefresh their test taking skills.

WHO MAY TAKE THE TESTS?

You MUSTmeet the following fourrequirements at the time ofapplication:

You must

be a Canadian citizen or landedimmigrant,

be a British Columbia resident,

be at least 18 years of age on thedate of the tests,

not have received a Grade 12graduation certificate from anyinstitution.

YOU WILL NOT BE GIVEN CREDIT IFYOU DO NOT MEET THE ABOVEREQUIREMENTS.

WHAT IS ON THE GEDTESTS?

The GED tests are designed to measureunderstanding in subject areascomparable to a secondary school

program of study. The following is adescription of the five tests:

LANGUAGE ARTS WRITING

(120 minutes total - 50 multiple-choicequestions, 1 essay)

The Language Arts Writing test isintended to measure your ability to usestandard written English clearly andeffectively. The test contains twoparts; candidates must write and besuccessful on both parts to receive ascore.

Part Ihas 50 multiple-choicequestions. The questions will measure

your ability to edit and correctsentences in the following areas:sentence structure(30%), word usage(30%), mechanics(25%), andorganization (15%). You will berequired to maintain consistency in

verb tense or point of view within thetotal text. The format of the questionsissentence correction(45%),sentence revision(35%), andsentence structure, mechanics andorganization(20%). You will have 75minutes to complete this section.

Part IIrequires you to write an essay ofapproximately 200-250 words on anissue or situation with which you arefamiliar and requires no special

knowledge. You will be given 45minutes to complete the essay and youare encouraged to plan, draft, revise,and proofread it.


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SOCIAL STUDIES

(70 minutes- 50 multiple choicequestions)

This test consists of reading and

interpreting passages and practicaldocuments such as a voters guide,graphics, and photographs that aretaken from social studies texts andhistorical documents. The subjectareas covered generally deal withCanadian issues.

40% Canadian and World History20% Economics25% Civics and Government15% Geography

You will be given the opportunity todemonstrate an understanding in eacharea by answering questions that ask

you to interpret the meanings of theselections and draw conclusions fromthe material presented.

SCIENCE

(80 minutes - 50 multiple-choicequestions)Please note that the Science test

uses metric terms andmeasurements.

This test is made up from three areas ofscience:45% Life Science (Biology)35% Physical Science (Chemistry,

Physics)20% Earth and Space Science

The test follows two different formats:

Fifty percent (50%) of the Science testwill be conceptual understandingquestions where short statements,diagrams, charts, or tables are givenand then questions are asked abouteach item.

The remaining 50 percent will beproblem-solving questions where longerreading passages or visual materialsare followed by questions.

LANGUAGE ARTS READING

(65 minutes - 40 multiple-choicequestions)

This test measures your ability tounderstand different kinds of readingpassages and answer questions in twocontent areas:

75% Literary texts, including drama,poetry, and prose from 1920s tothe present.

25% Non-fiction texts, includingnonfiction prose, critical reviews,business documents.

MATHEMATICS

(90 minutes - 50 multiple-choice andalternate format questions)

Please note that the Mathematicstest uses metric terms andmeasurements. There are twoseparate booklets (Part I and Part II),

45 questions in each, which arecombined and reported as one score.

Only Part I of the test permits theuse of a Casio fx-260 solarcalculator. (See Appendix A forcalculator directions).

The mathematics test places emphasison your ability to solve real-lifeproblems. It does not test your abilityto recognize specialized mathematicalvocabulary or symbols. There are fourcontent areas covered:

20-30% Arithmetic (Number operations)20-30% Measurement and Geometry20-30% Data Analysis, Statistics and

Probability20-30% Algebra Functions and Patterns


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The questions require somecomputation, problem-solving, andinterpretation of data contained withingraphs, charts, tables, and diagrams.

HOW DO IAPPLY TO TAKE THE TESTS?

You must submit a completedAPPLICATION TO WRITE GED TESTSform and appropriate fees to the GED

Testing Service in Victoria. The mailingaddress is on the bottom of theapplication form.

Application forms to write the GEDtests are available from the GEDExaminer at your local communitycollege or at the following web site:http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged/

There is a complete list of thecommunity colleges that offer GEDtesting on the following page. You canalso contact:

GED Testing ServiceMinistry of EducationP.O. Box 9886 STN PROV GOVTVictoria, BC V8W 9T6

Telephone: (250) 356-2431Fax: (250) 356-0271Web: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged

WHEN ARE THE GEDTESTS WRITTEN?

Regularly scheduled testing sessionsare held seven (7) times during the GED

Testing Year at community collegesthroughout British Columbia. The GED

Testing Year runs from January toNovember and the sessions arenormally held during the months of

January, March, April, June, July,September and November.

For the exact dates of the GED testingsessions, please contact your nearestcommunity college found on the

following page or visit the followingwebsite: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged

Your completed application form andfees MUST be received at the GED

Testing Service in Victoria AT LEAST

TWENTY EIGHT (28)DAYS PRIORto thetesting date. Once you have beenregistered to write, you will receive aconfirmation letter telling you whereand when you must report to write thetests. If you have not received aconfirmation letter by the Friday beforethe testing, call the GED TestingService at (250) 356-2431to ensurethat you are registered to write.

Please note: If you register for a specific

session, but are unable to write at thatsession for personal reasons, you mustsubmit a transfer form to the GED

Testing Service AT LEAST TWO (2)WEEKSBEFOREthe testing date so that yourtests can be rescheduled to the nextsitting. Requests for transfer on lessthan two-weeks notice will beconsidered on an individual basis. (Inmost cases, you will have to re-registerand submit an additional registrationfee.) Transfer forms can be obtained atany of the colleges listed on the nextpage or at the following website:http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged

FEES

The current GED test fee mustaccompany your application form.

The fee is NON-REFUNDABLE.

Payment should be in the form of acheque, money order, Master Card orVisa made payable to the Minister ofFinance. Post-dated cheques will NOTbe accepted. Contact your localcommunity college, the GED TestingService office at (250) 356-2431or visitthe following website for the currentGED fee: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged


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WHERE WILL THE TESTS BE HELD?

The testing sessions will be held throughout British Columbia at

the following community colleges and their satellite test sites.For additional information contact the GED Examiner at:

CAMOSUN COLLEGE

3100 Foul Bay Rd

VICTORIA BC V8P 5J2

Telephone: (250) 370-3598

NORTHERN LIGHTS COLLEGE

Box 1000 9820 - 120th Ave

FORT ST. JOHN BC V1J 6K1

Telephone: (250) 787-6201

CAPILANO UNIVERSITY

North Vancouver Campus

2055 Purcell Way

NORTH VANCOUVER BC V7J 3H5

Telephone: (604) 986-1911, local 2521

NORTHWEST COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Box 726 5331 McConnell Ave

TERRACE BC V8G 4X2

Telephone: (250) 635-6511 ext 5377

COLLEGE OF NEW CALEDONIA

3330 - 22nd Ave

PRINCE GEORGE BC V2N 1P8

Telephone: (250) 561-5826

OKANAGAN UNIVERSITY1000 K.L.O. Rd

KELOWNA BC V1Y 4X8

Telephone: (250) 862-5419

COLLEGE OF THE ROCKIES

PO Box 8500 2700 College Way

CRANBROOK BC V1C 5L7

Telephone: (250) 489-8236

SELKIRK COLLEGE

PO Box 1200 301 Frank Beinder Way

CASTLEGAR BC V1N 3J1

Telephone: (250) 365-7292

DOUGLAS COLLEGE

PO Box 2503 700 Royal AveNEW WESTMINSTER BC V3M 5Z5

Telephone: (604) 527-5447

THOMPSON RIVERS UNIVERSITY

900 McGill Rd Box 3010

KAMLOOPS BC V2C 5N3Telephone: (250) 828-5471

KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY

12666 - 72nd Ave

SURREY BC V3W 2M8

Telephone: (604) 599-2368

UNIVERSITY OF THE FRASER VALLEY

33844 King Rd

ABBOTSFORD BC V2S 7M9

Telephone: (604) 504-7441

NICOLA VALLEY INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY

4155 Belshaw St

MERRITT BC V1K 1R1

Telephone: (250) 378-3331

VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY

900 Fifth St

NANAIMO BC V9R 5S5

Telephone: (250) 740-6416

NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE

2300 Ryan Rd

COURTENAY BC V9N 8N6

Telephone: (250) 334-5065

VANCOUVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Downtown Campus

250 West Pender

VANCOUVER BC V6B 1S9

Telephone: (604) 443-8611

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SPECIAL EDITIONS OF THE GEDTESTS.

A French versionof the GED tests isavailable. If you wish to write the GEDtests in French, please mark the correctbox on the application form.

The GED tests are also offered in LargePrint. If you wish to write the tests inLarge Print, simply send a writtenrequest for that version along with yourapplication form and fees.

The tests are also available inAudiocassetteand Brailleversions.Examinees who wish to write either ofthese versions must submit a Request

for Special Accommodations ofStandard GED Test Administrationform to the GED Testing Service inVictoria (see section below).

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS TO WRITE THEGEDTESTS.

Special accommodations are available ifyou have specific learning and/orphysical disabilities. To qualify andreceive approval from the Chief

Examiner of British Columbia you mustsubmit a completed copy of theRequest for Special Accommodationsof Standard GED TestAdministrationform to the GED

Testing Service in Victoria. The GEDTesting Service in Victoria will forward arequest for accommodations because ofspecial learning disabilities to the GEDin Washington, D.C. for their approval.

IN ORDER TO VALIDATE THE REQUEST,SUPPORTING MEDICAL DOCUMENTATION

AND/OR A SUMMARY OF TEST RESULTSMUST ACCOMPANY THE REQUEST FOR

SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS FORM.

The Request for SpecialAccommodations to the StandardGED Test Administrationform is

available from the GED Examiner atyour local community college or at thefollowing website:www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged

The form must be sent to the GEDAdministrator, in Victoria, along with

your application form and fees. Anyrequest submitted without theappropriate application form and feeswill be returned.

Due to the time required to review thesecases, examinees requesting specialneeds accommodations must submittheir application form, writing fees,special needs form, and medicaldocumentation to the GED TestingService at least SIX WEEKS PRIORto thewriting date.

WHAT DO IBRING TO THE TESTS?

Satisfactory identification must bepresented at the time of the test.You must bring some form of pictureidentification: a valid drivers license, aBritish Columbia Identification Card, apassport, or other identification cards(which have a photograph, signature,

and indicate date of birth andresidency). As well as a picture, theidentification must have a specimen of

your signature.

Also, please be sure to bring yourSocial Insurance Number with youwhen you write the tests. This is theidentification number that the GED

Testing Service in Victoria uses toidentify who you are, mark your testanswers, and record your marks.


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Everything you need - instructions, apencil, a pen for the essay portion ofthe Language Arts Writing test, answersheets, calculator, and scratch paperwill be provided. No books, sliderules, electronic calculators (other

than the Casio fx-260 calculator thatwill be supplied by the GED TestingService in Victoria), or othermaterials may be used when takingthe tests. No papers of any kind areto be taken out of the testing roomat the conclusion of the test.

WHAT IS THE TESTING PROCEDURE?

You will be scheduled to write all five

tests at your first writing session.

Most colleges write two tests on Fridaynight and three on Saturday, but a fewdo write all day Saturday. Pleasecontact the college to verify their testingschedule.

You will record all your personalidentification and answers onto answersheets. It is important that youfollow ALL instructions when

completing the forms. Theinformation MUSTbe complete andcorrect, as it will be the only recordavailable to indicate that you havewritten the GED tests. If you do notfill in your Social Insurance Numbercorrectly, there will be no way toidentify which paper is yours, and ifyou do not indicate which test formyou are writing, the answers cannotbe marked. The invigilator at thetesting session will help you identify

which form you will be writing.

With the exception of Part II of theLanguage Arts Writing test, whichrequires you to write an essay, and thealternate format questions on theMathematics test (see Appendix B forexamples of the Standard Grid and

Coordinate Plane Grid), all thequestions on the five GED tests aremultiple-choice. Each multiple-choicequestion has five possible answers.

0

On the answer sheet you will berequired to fill in a circle to show whichanswer is best for each question. Besure to fill in the space completely.

HOW LONG DO THE TESTS TAKE TOWRITE?

The GED Testing Service in Victoriaschedules the session dates inconjunction with the communitycolleges, but the colleges set the timesthe individual tests are administered.You should note that you can writethese tests only at the time specified by

the colleges. You should arrive at thecentre approximately one-half hourbefore the tests are scheduled to begin.If you are scheduled to write onlysome of the tests, call the GEDExaminer at the college listed onpage 5, to find out what time youshould report to write.

The five tests take seven (7) hours andfive (5) minutes to complete.

Language Arts Writing:Part I: 75 minutesPart II: 45 minutes

Social Studies:70 minutesScience: 80 minutesLanguage Arts Reading:

65 minutesMathematics: 90 minutes


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HOW AND WHEN WILL IBE NOTIFIED OFTHE RESULTS?

Your completed tests will be forwardedto the GED Testing Service in Victoria tobe marked. Approximately THREEweeksafter you write the tests, you willreceive an Official Report of Resultsindicating your Standard Score on eachtest. If you are successful on all fivetests you will also receive a BritishColumbia Secondary SchoolEquivalency Certificate.

HOW ARE THE RESULTS REPORTED?

Results on each of the five GED tests

are reported as Standard Scoresranging from 200 to 800. A passingStandard Score for the GED TestingService in British Columbia is 450. YouMUST receive a score of at least 450 oneach of the five tests to be eligible toreceive a British Columbia SecondarySchool Equivalency Certificate. TheGED Testing Service in Victoria doesnot calculate or report percentages orletter grades.

CAN ITAKE THE TESTS AGAIN?

You can rewrite one or more of the testson which you were unsuccessful (anytest on which you received aStandard Score of less than 450) at asubsequent testing session.

If you are unsuccessful in achieving thepassing standard score of 450 the FIRSTtime, you may write a 2ndand 3rdtimewithin the GED Testing Year (January-

November). If you need to write aFOURTHtime, you must wait untilthe following GED Testing Year.

The scores reported on your new OfficialReport of Results will be the HIGHESTscores that you have achieved and notnecessarily the scores from the mostrecent testing. Recent scores are notreported if they are lower than your

previous scores.

If you pass, but require higher scores toenter a post-secondary program or foremployment purposes, you may rewritethe tests once you have received apassing score. A letter from the post-secondary institution or employer,explaining the need to rewrite plus awritten request from you must besubmitted to the GED Testing Serviceand approved by the Chief Examiner ofBritish Columbia.

If you wish to be retested, you mustsubmit a new application form alongwith the current registration fee.

NOTE: If you have not passed all fiveGED tests on or before December 31,2001 you will be required to starttesting again with the new 2002 testseries and rewrite all five subjects.

If you started to write the GED tests onJanuary 1, 2002 or later, you only haveto rewrite the subjects you wereunsuccessful in. Until further notice,the scores from subjects that youpassed will not expire after a certaintime period (e.g., there is no longer a 3

year time limit for rewriting tests).


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HOW CAN IGET EXTRA COPIES OF MYMARKS?

The GED Testing Service in Victoria willkeep test records.

Duplicate statements of marks orduplicate certificates can be obtainedfor a fee. Please contact:

Transcriptsc/o Ministry of EducationP.O. Box 9886 STN PROV GOVTVictoria, BC V8W 9T6

Telephone: (250) 356-2432Fax: (250) 356-0171Web: www.bced.gov.bc.ca/ged


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APPENDIX A

MATHEMATICS CALCULATOR DIRECTIONS(for the Casio fx 260 Solar Calculator)


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APPENDIX B

MATHEMATICS STANDARD GRID AND

COORDINATE PLANE GRID


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Documents

Ged Guide Examinees