GED Test Scores

GED Scores

What do GED Scores Mean?

The knowledge regarding any examination is incomplete if you do not know how to interpret your test results. The GED  is no different! Understanding yourscores is essential if you want to analyze your performance. The examination will help you understand your high school knowledge in English, social studies, mathematics and science subjects.Your scores will not only help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, but would also help you understand which colleges you can apply to. Different colleges have different marks criteria, while considering the eligibility criteria of applicants. Based on your scores and the requirement of different colleges, you can understand your position and the competition that you are up against. This is a traditional examination and hence, the marking scheme too is quite traditional. To help you interpret your scores, certain features of the scoring system used in GED are discussed in the following section of the article.Understanding GED Marking ProcedureThe GED consists of 5 parts. Each section consists of different numbers of questions. Keeping that in mind, the points to remember, while calculating yourscores are given below:

  • The primary score that you receive is the sum total of the correct answers that you have given. This score can range anywhere from 2250 to 4000.
  • Along with the total score, you will receive separate scores for each section of the examination. The minimum and maximum score for each sub-section of the examination are, 200 and 800 respectively.
  • The total score that you have received, by adding the score for each section of the examination is divided by 5. This will result in your ‘average GED score’.
  • The ‘average GED score’ is converted to a ‘percentile rank’, which is calculated by comparing your ‘average GED score’ to a pre-existing scale.
  • The essay sub-section of the examination is scored separately. The score that you receive, for the essay that you have written, is factored in the score for the English section of the examination.

How to Utilize Your Score?Once you have understood what each score of your total scores represents, you can analyze your strengths and weaknesses. This will then provide an insight into your preparation level, as well. You will now be able to understand the areas that you need to work hard in, in order to fare well in the examination.It will also indicate the colleges that you can consider applying to, since different colleges of different states, have their own separate minimum marks criteria. Thus, if you have a particular college in mind and you know how to understand your  scores; you will become aware of whether or not your admission application will receive its due consideration. This brings us to the different types of results, which are discussed in the following section of the article.Understanding the Competition You are FacingThe minimum score for passing the examination is 410. However, in most states the average GED score that you should receive is 450 in each sub-section. Nevertheless, merely passing the examination is not sufficient. To help you understand this, different types of GED results that you can receive are as follows:

  • A poor GED score will range from 401 to 500 and it would be converted to a GPA range of 2.0 to 2.9.
  • An average GED score will range from 501to 600, since they mean a GPA of 3.0 to 3.4.
  • A good GED score ranges from 601 to 700, which converts to a GPA range of 3.5 to 3.7.

Thus, based on the scores that you have received, you will be able to analyze your position in the competition. So understand your scores well and then plan your test preparation process.