1. How do I register for classes? Is there a cost for services?
– GED preparation services are offered at our sites for a onetime $20 fee. If you are unable to pay the fee, do
not worry, we do not turn anyone away based on financial hardships. In order to use our GED services, you
must be 17 or older. If you are 17 years old, your parent or guardian needs to come with you to register and
present your drop out papers from school or your court mandated papers.
– What happens when I come in for GED services?
When you come to a site to take GED preparation classes, we will first give you a placement exam to
determine what level of reading and math skills you have. It is typical for most people to have a higher
reading score than math. If you’re at a 6th grade level or below, you will begin with Adult Basic Education.
Adult Basic Education (ABE) is focused on helping you build up your basic reading, writing, and math skills in
order to set the building blocks for your GED preparation. If you score 7th grade or above, you will be
considered pre-GED and will begin working on pre-GED materials and tests geared toward GED preparation.
After your instructor feels that you are ready, they will give you an official GED practice exam to see if you are
ready to take the exam and earn your GED!
2. What services do you offer?
-Adult Basic Education (ABE), GED Preparation, and English as Second Language (ESL) classes
3. When are the classes offered? Where do I go?
Please see our Students tab for service locations, dates, and times.
4. What are the sections of the GED?
Reading
This section has 40 questions to be answered. All the questions are multiple-choice. The essays given in this
section include both fiction and non-fiction. 65 minutes will be provided to complete this section. The passages
given are about 200-400 words each. The questions are not based on prior knowledge, but on you
understanding the material given to you.
Writing
The writing section is divided in to 2 parts. Part I consists of 50 multiple choice questions. Part II consists of
an essay question. Both scores blended together produce the writing section score.
Part I
Multiple choice questions are allotted 75 minutes. 30% of the questions are based on sentences. The
next 30% is used up to mend errors in the given sentences and phrases. The following 25% is allotted
to correct mechanical errors like capitalization, punctuation, and spelling. The final 15% of questions are
based on paragraph organization.
Part II
An essay of general topic will be asked. The student must address the topic in 200-250 words and also
present their opinions and views about the topic. Paper will be provided to use for notes. The final essay
will be written only on a two-paged answer sheets.
The scoring for the writing section is as follows:
· 4- Effective
· 3- Adequate
· 2- Marginal
· 1 – Ineffective
Social Studies
The questions asked in this section are both globally and nationally based. There are 50 multiple choice
questions. There are varied sources from which these questions are taken. To answer questions from this
section, the student must have the ability to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate the information given.
Mathematics
The math section tests the student’s understanding and lasts for 90 minutes. This section is also divided into
two parts. The student can use a scientific calculator for the first part and for the second part a calculator may
not be used. We encourage our students to answer all questions as best they can, because there is no penalty
for wrong answers and an educated guess may turn out to be correct. In case any one part is not done well,
then the student has to re-take the math section again. Both multiple choice questions and alternate format
questions will be asked. The four major areas are tested in this section:
· Numbers, number sense & operations
· Measurement and Geometry
· Data, Statistics and Probability
· Algebra, Functions and Patterns
Science
The Science section has 50 questions. 80 minutes are provided to complete 50 multiple choice questions. Half
of the questions asked may be answeredif you have strong reading skills and the other half are based on
everyday life science topics such as: recycling, heredity, prevention of disease, pollution, climate, etc. The
division of areas in the Science section is as follows:
· Life Science
· Earth and Space Science
· Physical Science, including physics and chemistry
Information in this section may be in the form of a paragraph, chart, table, graph, map or figure to answer the
questions asked.
5. How many sections do I need to pass to be able to take the exam?
– Once students have taken their assessment exams (see question #1), they will work with a one-on-one
tutor at their chosen GED site and take practice exams at the instructor’s discretion. On average, we
recommend that students who have passed at least three out of five subjects go on to register to take the
actual GED exam. (Note: This is different for each person and done at the discretion of the GED site
Coordinator!)
6. How much does the GED cost and where can I take it?
-The GED costs $95 and can be taken at the ACC campus in located in Round Rock or the Austin location at
Middle Fiskville road. There is a $20 charge if a student wishes to re-take any section of the exam.
7. What is literacy?
-Literacy is more than just reading. It is the development of skills needed to function in everyday life. Literacy
includes: health, financial, workforce, and family literacy; as well as: ESL, corrections, citizenship, and GED
preparation.
8. Who can help me if I don’t speak English?
-For assistance in any other language, please call our office at (512) 869-0497.