If you're over the age of 16, the General Educational Development (GED) exam provides you with the opportunity to earn a certificate or diploma that is widely recognized as the equivalent of a high school diploma. Many schools will accept GED certification for entrance into a college or university program.

There are a total of five tests that must be passed before you can earn your GED.

In the Language Arts, Writing test, you will answer multiple-choice questions in which you must identify errors in sentence structure, usage, mechanics, and organization. There is also an essay.

During the Social Studies test, you will be tasked with answering multiple-choice questions drawn from history, economics, geography, civics, and government. The test gauges your understanding of the basic principles in each. To do well, you must be able to read passages, cartoons, graphs, and charts.

For the Science test, multiple-choice questions are drawn from the fields of life science, earth and space science, and physical science (chemistry and physics). Answering the questions requires a combination of excellent reading skills, specific knowledge, and the ability to interpret scientific data.

The Language Arts, Reading test includes multiple-choice questions which test your ability to understand the information presented in approximately seven excerpts from newspapers, magazines, novels, short stories, poetry, drama, and business or legal documents.

Finally, there's the mathematics test. There are algebra, measurement, and geometry questions, as well as some that cover number theory, data analysis, and probability. Most are word problems and involve real-life situations or ask you to interpret information presented in graphs, charts, tables, and diagrams. Part I of the exam allows you to use a calculator; Part II does not.