Editing General Educational Development (section)

==History==
[[File:GED-Diploma-with-Instructions-Pennsylvania-1972.pdf|alt=GED Diploma with Instructions - PA 1972|thumb|GED diploma with instructions, Pennsylvania, 1972]]
In November 1942, the [[United States Armed Forces Institute]] asked the [[American Council on Education]] (ACE) to develop a battery of tests to measure high school-level academic skills.<ref name=History>{{cite web |url=http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/history |title=History of the GED® test |access-date=February 19, 2013 |work=GED Testing Service |publisher=GED Testing Service LLC |date=2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209082903/http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/history |archive-date=2013-02-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}} These tests gave military personnel and veterans who had enrolled in the military before completing high school a way to demonstrate their proficiency. Passing these tests gave returning soldiers and sailors the academic credentials they needed to get civilian jobs and gain access to post-secondary education or training.

ACE revised the GED tests for a third time in 1988.<ref name=History/>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}} The most noticeable change to the series was the addition of a writing sample, or [[essay]]. The new tests placed more emphasis on socially relevant topics and problem-solving skills. Surveys of test-takers found that more students (65%) reported taking the test with the intention of continuing their education beyond high school, rather than to get better employment (30%).<ref name=History/>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}}

A fourth revision was made in 2002 to make the test comply with more recent standards for high-school education.<ref name=History/>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}}

A fifth revision was released on January 2, 2014,<ref name=new-assessment>{{cite web |url=http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/new-assessment |title= The new assessment is a stepping-stone to a brighter future |access-date=October 22, 2013 | work = GED Testing Service | publisher = GED Testing Service LLC | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061953/http://www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/new-assessment | archive-date=October 23, 2013}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}} designed to be administered on [[Pearson VUE]], a proprietary computer-based testing platform. The new test applies to the United States and internationally, but not to Canada, which used the 2002 version. As of May 2024, Canada discontinued the GED. It retained four content areas—language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies—but with different content to "measure a foundational core of knowledge and skills that are essential for career and college readiness."<ref name=new-assessment/>{{better source needed|date=April 2023}}