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GED Testing Information

Those who wish to take the test must register IN PERSON at the Regional Office of Education for LaSalle County in Ottawa (1-815-434-0780) or at the Assessment Center Room E 215 at Illinois Valley Community College (1-815-224-0542). You must bring $35.00 in cash or money order and a photo ID at the time of registration. No personal checks will be accepted.

IMPORTANT:  Testers must register at least one week before the 1st test date listed in the month you wish to test. However, the number of seats available for testing each month is limited.  When that limit is reached, testing will be closed for that month regardless of the date. Please register as early as possible to reserve a test seat. 

In the event that testing is full or closed upon sign up, testers will be placed on the following month's test list. 

Call 1-815-224-0542 for more information on testing.

Call 224-0358 for more information on preparation classes for the GED test.

Application Requirements

Adults may apply to the Regional Superintendent of Schools in their county of residence provided they meet one of the following criteria:

  1. Applicants who are 18 years of age or older, maintained residence in the State of Illinois for at least 30 days, and are not high school graduates, but whose high school class has graduated

  2. A member of the Armed Forces of the United States on active duty, who is 17 years of age or older, and who is stationed in Illinois or is a legal resident of Illinois

  3. A ward of the Department of Corrections who is 17 years of age or older, or an inmate confined in any branch of the Illinois State Penitentiary or in a county correctional facility who is 17 years of age or older

  4. A female who is 17 years of age or older who is unable to attend school because she is either pregnant or the mother of one or more children

  5. A male 17 years of age or older who is unable to attend school because he is the father of one or more children

  6. A person who is 17 years of age or older who has been a dropout for a period of at least one year

  7. A person who is successfully completing an alternative education program under Section 2-3.81 or Article 13A of The School Code of Illinois

  8. A person who is enrolled in the youth education program sponsored by the Illinois National Guard

What are the GED Tests Like?

With the exception of Part II of the Writing Skills Test, which requires an essay, all questions of the GED Test are multiple choice with five possible answers given.  The questions range in difficulty from easy to hard, and cover a wide range of subjects.  The content of the tests are as follows:

Writing Skills - Part I

(50 questions, 75 minutes)

30% Sentence Structure

25% Usage

15% Spelling, Punctuation, Capitalization

Writing Skills - Part II

(essay, 45 minutes)

Social Studies

(50 questions, 70 minutes)

25% U.S. History

25% Civics and Government

20% Economics

15% Geography

15% World History

Science

(50 questions, 80 minutes)

45% Life Science

35% Physical Science

20% Earth and Space Sciences

Language Arts: Reading

(40 questions, 65 minutes)

75% Literary Text

25% Nonfiction Prose

Mathematics-Part I (Calculator)

(25 questions, 45 minutes)

Mathematics-Part II (No Calculator)

(25 questions, 45 minutes)

20-30% Number, Number Sense and Operations

20-30% Measurement and Geometry

20-30% Algebra, Functions and Patterns

An applicant shall make on each of the five tests a standard score of forty (410) or above and a total standard score of at least 2,250 on the entire battery (average score of 450 on all tests). 

Constitution Examination

In addition to the five GED Tests, Illinois residents are required to satisfactorily pass an examination on American Patriotism and the principles of representative government as enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America, and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, as well as on the proper use and display of the American Flag as provided by Section 27-3 of The School Code of Illinois.  You must have verification of passing the constitution at the time of signing up for the GED test or you must take the test on the 2nd day of GED testing.

Click here for online Constitution Study Guide  http://www.southwestern.cc.il.us/adultbasiced/constitution/

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