College Admissions
Today, one in twenty college freshman holds a high school credential earned by taking and passing the General Educational Development (GED) Tests. How can admissions officials evaluate these nontraditional applicants?
Nearly all of the colleges and universities in the United States have published policies to admit students without a traditional high school diploma. However, unlike traditional high school graduates, GED credential holders face the challenge of documenting their academic ability in the traditional manner.
These nontraditional candidates have demonstrated academic skills in the core content areas of language arts, social studies, science, and mathematics. In fact, those who pass the GED Tests have surpassed the performance of at least 40 percent of the nation’s graduating high school seniors. The American Council on Education’s Center for Adult Learning and Educational Credentials recommends that persons who earn their jurisdiction’s high school credential by taking and passing the GED Tests should be accepted as high school graduates for the purposes of college admission.
College Admissions
Percentile ranks can be interpreted as ranks in the national graduating class of high school seniors. The American Council on Education makes the following recommendations concerning GED graduates:
- If applicants are routinely asked to submit admissions test scores (e.g., ACT or SAT), GED graduates should be required to do the same. Institutions should not substitute GED Test scores for admissions test scores.
- If a minimum class rank is normally required for admission, the information in the accompanying table can be used to estimate the U.S. national class rank from GED standard scores. For example, if the institution generally admits traditional students graduating in the upper half of their classes, it should require GED graduates to present average standard scores of at least 500. In such cases, the candidate may retest to earn the required GED Test scores or provide data from other academic achievement tests.
- If merit scholarships are offered to seniors graduating in the top ten percent of their classes, similar awards should be made to GED graduates with average standard scores of 610 or better.
Interpreting GED Test Scores
GED standard scores are normalized scores based on a nationally representative stratified random sample of high school seniors tested in the spring of their graduating year. Only seniors who are expected to meet the academic requirements for graduation are included in the sample. Separate normings are performed for the United States and Canada; scores are restandardized only when the norm group shows significant changes. The standard scores currently reported are based on a 2001 standardization study.
The resulting standard scores and percentile ranks can be used to describe the skills of adults who take the GED Tests compared to the performance of contemporary high school seniors. GED standard scores have the following properties:
- The median standard score for U.S. graduating high school seniors is 500 for each of the five tests.
- The standard deviation is 100 points for U.S. graduating high school seniors.
- The percentage of graduating seniors at or below each GED standard score value is the same for each of the five tests.
GED Standard |
Estimated
National |
700 |
Top 1% |
670 |
Top 2% |
660 |
Top 3% |
640 |
Top 5% |
610 |
Top 10% |
580 |
Top 15% |
570 |
Top 20% |
550 |
Top 25% |
530 |
Top 33% |
520 |
Top 40% |
500 |
Top 50% |
460 |
Top 55% |
450 |
Top60% |
This information is from a free informational brochure published by the
American Council on Education’s GED Testing Service. Copies of the
brochure (Item No. 2510260) are available by contacting the GED Fulfillment
Service, Department 191, Washington, DC 20055 or (301) 632-6758. Shipping
and handling charges apply to all orders. Additional brochure information
can be found on the GED Testing Service’s web site at
www.gedtest.org 