Course

Course Summary
Credit Type:
Exam
ACE ID:
GED-0001
Organization:
Location:
The exam is administered at Pearson VUE Testing Centers (PVTCs) at over 4,500 locations in the US.
Length:
90 minutes
Dates Offered:
Credit Recommendation & Competencies
Level Credits (SH) Subject
Lower-Division Baccalaureate 3 introduction to natural and physical sciences
Scale (cut) score of 145 for High School Equivalency, score of 165 for College Ready designation, and score of 175 for College Ready + Credit designation.
Description

Objective:

(Exam Time: 90 minutes). The exam is designed to provide students with the opportunity to show their achievement in Science at the high school equivalency level, college readiness level, or college credit level, with the following areas of focus: applying scientific reasoning skills and practices to content drawn from the three domains: life science, physical science, and earth and space science; and understanding scientific content that pertains to two focusing themes: health and the human body and energy.

Skills Measured:

The science practices can be described as skills that are key to scientific reasoning in both textual and quantitative contexts. The science practices are derived from important skills enumerated in the Career and College Ready Standards as well as in The National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education.

The Science Test also focuses on three major content domains:
1. Life science 2. Physical science 3. Earth and space science These themes have been selected to ensure that the test covers a wide range of important scientific topics, but they are also intended to function like a lens by drawing focus to a distinct subset of ideas within each content topic. That is, items from any of the three content domains of life science, physical science, and Earth and space science can pertain to one of these two themes, but content that falls outside the spheres of these themes do not appear on the GED® Science Test.

1. Human Health and Living Systems, the first focusing theme, pertains to material that is vital for the health and safety of all living things on the planet. Topics explored in this area of focus include the physical body and characteristics of humans and other living things. System of living organisms and related topics (e.g. diseases, evolution, and heredity) are also covered. This crosscutting concept also examines the mechanisms for how the human body works on chemical and physical levels. Within the domain of Earth and space science, topics are focused on how the environment affects living things and human society, as well as on how humans and other organisms affect the environment.

2. Energy and Related Systems, the second focusing theme, deals with a fundamental part of the universe. Topics in this area of focus cover sources of energy, transformations of energy, and uses of energy. Within the domain of life science, this theme is reflected in content exploring how energy flows through organisms and ecosystems. Similarly, the Earth's geochemical systems are touched upon in Earth and space science. Topics related to how humans gain energy in their bodies and the results of the use of that energy are also relevant to this theme.
Instruction & Assessment
Supplemental Materials