Changes to the GED 2014

Changes to the GED What is the test format? The test is on computer. Has the content changed drastically from the 2002 Series GED Test? The content of the 2014 GED test does differ from that tested on the 2002 Series GED Test.

How long will the GED take? The GED test will be about 7 hours long with the timing for each module as follows: Reasoning through Language Arts o 150 minutes (including a 10-minute break) Mathematical Reasoning o 90 minutes Science o 90 minutes Social Studies o 90 minutes

GED Q & A How hard will the test be for older students? o The test is aligned with today's high school standards. It is at the same difficulty level as needed to pass the high school exit exam (CAHSEE), today. What is the cut score for passing the GED ® test? o The cut score for passing each content area test has been established at a scaled score of 150 on a scale of 100 to 200. More details will be announced in coming weeks. Any word on scoring cut points for GED vs. career- and college-ready pass scores? o The cut scores for the GED® with Honors, representing performance consistent with readiness for career and college, were set at a scaled score of 170 on a scale of 100 to 200 for each content area test. Will the 2250 minimum score still be utilized for passing the GED ® test? o No, the new test will be on an entirely new scale of 100 to 200 points with a Passing Standard of 150 points on each test module. In 2014, test-takers will need to reach a score of at least 150 on each of the four content modules (Reasoning Through Language Arts, Mathematical Reasoning, Science, and Social Studies) in order to be eligible to receive a high school equivalency credential. o There is no longer compensation between the test modules to offset lower scores on one module with higher scores on another module as there had been in the past.

GED Q & A Continued Will the new scoring reflect whether or not students are college and/or job-force ready? o Yes. If 150 equates to high school equivalent, what is the score needed for assessing college/career readiness? o The score needed for career and college readiness has been established at 170 on a scale of 100 to 200 for each subject. The old 450 average is now gone so that a student can no longer build points to make up for a lower test score (420) and still pass the GED test with an average score? o Correct, the scale of the new test is completely different, and there is no compensation of scores between sections of the test. On the other hand, there is also no expectation that the test-taker needs to score higher than a minimum score to fulfill requirements for the high school equivalency credential.

GED Q & A Continued Why is this shift happening at this time and not in the future when it is more in line with current curriculum? o The shift to the Common Core standards is happening nationwide at the current time. By shifting the content of the test now, but keeping the passing standard for high school equivalency matched with performance of graduating high school seniors in 2013 who have not yet had instruction in career- and college-ready content, we enable adult test-takers to achieve a high school equivalency diploma on the same basis as their current high school graduate counterparts, and yet provide them with performance feedback and information on their demonstration of skills consistent with readiness for career and college. This information provides them with guidance that will be useful as they chart their course forward into postsecondary education or the workforce, which will require skills beyond what is currently required for high school equivalency.

Computer Questions Is keyboarding speed an issue? How does this influence test time? The time given is adequate for students to construct their answer and key in their response. Field testing has demonstrated that even test-takers with minimal keyboarding skills have adequate time. The minimum recommended typing sill is 20WPM. Are questions linear or computer adaptive? Linear. Will there still be multiple versions (forms) of each subject test? Yes, as in any high quality standardized testing program, multiple equivalent forms of the test will be administered to test-takers to ensure that test security is maintained and to offer multiple testing opportunities to test-takers who might not pass on their first attempt. Can students take the same form of the test over again? The system will have 3 forms of the test and make sure that a student does not take the same form twice. *Please Note: Students can re-test on the same form after 60 days of the last test.*

Item Types Extended Response (ER) o There will be two ER items in the new GED assessment; one on the Reasoning Language Arts (RLA) and the other on the Social Studies portion. Short Answer (SA) o Require test-takers to write a short paragraph in response to questions based on graphical and/or textual stimuli. Drag-and-Drop o Test-takers are typically given several drag tokens, which they must place on one or more specific drop targets. This type of question may be employed in the service of sequencing or reordering tasks, graphing tasks, mapping tasks, and more. Drop-Down Item o These questions contain response opportunities embedded directly within a text. Also used to help assess language skills in tasks designed to mimic the editing process in an authentic manner. o These items will be present during brief texts with five to eight drop-down menus embedded within it.

More Item Types Fill-in-the-Blank (FIB) o These responses require the test-taker to supply a word, short phrase, or numerical answer in response to an open-stem question. Multiple Choice (MC) o These questions will appear in all four content areas. Each MC item will have four answer options with only one correct answer. Item Scenarios o The Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies tests will include discrete items or single items that may or may not have a stimulus embedded in their stems,

The Way the Testing Screen Appears The stimulus material that the item is based on generally appears on the left-hand pane of the screen If the stimulus material is brief, however, the screen will not be split into left and right-hand panes, and the stimulus and the question will all appear in one central window. The stimulus material may be “tabbed” – each tab representing pages or “screens” of material to be read. – o the use of tabs reduces scrolling and makes the materials more readily accessible. For some questions the stimulus materials might consist of several different documents, for example, a chart, an article, and an excerpt from a source document like the constitution – each appearing on one or more tabs. Sometimes multiple test items are based on the same stimulus material. – In these cases the left-hand pane remains consistent from question-to- question, – but the right-hand pane changes to present new test questions.

Response Information Short answer items are identified in the instructions by the amount of suggested time allocated for each question – 10 minutes Drop-down questions contain a passage that might have several drop- down boxes within it, each drop-down box will have several answer options. Extended Response items are identified by the directions indicating the estimated time allocation – – 45 minutes in Reasoning Through Language Arts and – 25 minutes in Social Studies Although the answer box appears small, the amount of space will expand as more text is entered, so there is no need to worry about running out of answer space.

Math Tools The Mathematical Reasoning has several additional tools: The “Formula Sheet” tool and the Symbol tool that allows test-takers to select certain mathematical symbols in a fill-in-the blank response. Most questions in the mathematical reasoning test and some items in the science and social studies tests will also include o The Calculator tool – a link to the on- screen Texas Instruments TI-30XS scientific calculator o The Calculator reference tool – which shows example calculations on the TI-30XS Visit for a tutorial on how to use the TI-30XShttp://

How to Help Yourself Each of the items contains the “Flag for Review” tool, to indicate how a test-taker would identify a particular item that he or she wanted to revisit before submitting their test for scoring. o The “Flag for Review” Tool is a way for a test- taker to skip a question and come back to answer it at a later time. The last screen is the review screen o This shows how test-takers are able to navigate back through the test to revisit questions or check their answers.

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