Official Site of The State of New Jersey

The GED is approved by the United States Department of Education and the New Jersey State Board of Education. The GED is aligned to federal Career and College Readiness Standards and designed to measure skills and concepts associated with four years of regular high school instruction. The test is developed by adult and secondary educators and subject matter specialists. Each of the GED subject tests correspond to the general framework of most high school curricula: writing skills, social studies, science, interpreting literature and the arts, and mathematics. New Jersey no longer offers the TASC and HiSET equivalency assessments. 

The GED is aligned to the federal Career and College Readiness Standards and designed to measure skills and concepts associated with four years of regular high school instruction. Each test is developed by adult and secondary educators and subject matter specialists. Each of the tests corresponds to the general framework of most high school curricula: writing skills, social studies, science, interpreting literature and the arts, and mathematics. All GED tests prior to 2014 were norm-referenced tests aligned to a 60/40 pass/fail ratio of juniors on path to graduate. The new tests are more difficult, and the department recommend some type of preparation. Please contact your local county One-Stop Career Center.

The tests are intended primarily for persons who, for any number of reasons, have missed their first opportunity to complete a high school program of instruction. The tests can be administered only to persons who are at least 16 years old; have not graduated from an accredited high school or received a high school equivalency certificate or diploma; and are not currently enrolled in a traditional high school. You must be a New Jersey resident. If you are 16 or 17 years old, you must complete a Certificate of Consent to Participate, verifying that you are not enrolled in school, and the parent or legal guardian must bring it in person to the test center or have the consent form notarized by a New Jersey notary before a test will be administered. If you have a legal guardian, you must bring a copy of the court document awarding guardianship to the test center before a test will be administered. Written confirmation of eligibility must be provided by all candidates. You must bring identification to your test center when registering for a test. The identification requirements are found on the Test Centers webpage.

Tests may be taken only at testing centers that have been approved by the New Jersey Department of Education. Special accommodations are available for qualified persons. You must contact the testing center where you wish to take the test to find out the testing schedule and how to register for the test.

The following lists the general cost of each assessment. Contact the testing center about any additional fees.

GED has information on their webpage about their current assessment. Information on the pre-2014 GED can also be found on the GED webpage.

All tests are now offered on the computer. A paper test will only be offered if you apply for and receive a special accommodation from the test vendor.

1. The GED can be taken online at home. You may find more information on the GED website.

However, the Consent to Participate Form must be completed by any 16- and/or 17-year-old individual who is currently not enrolled in a public/private high school and interested in taking the GED at home. The form must then be taken to the nearest test center and signed by the Chief Examiner.

In order to qualify for a New Jersey state-endorsed high school diploma, candidates must meet the minimum test score requirements. The New Jersey Department of Education Adult Education web page lists the passing scores for GED.

Contact the test center of your choice to reschedule the test and for any information on additional costs.

Yes, but the diploma is not automatically issued the same way as when one passes a complete test vendor series. The New Jersey Department of Education’s Adult Education Office must be contacted by the student or test center, with each test vendor id number, the student name, date of birth, social security number or taxpayer identification, and current mailing address. However, GED test scores prior to 2014 cannot be combined with current GED, HiSET or TASC scores.

For example:  If you took the HiSET and passed all subtests except Math, you can take either the TASC or GED subtest in Math. If you then pass the TASC or GED subtest in Math, we will issue a diploma based upon the combined passing scores.

Note: The HiSET and TASC have five subtests – Language Arts Writing, Language Arts Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies. Each subtest has its own score.

The GED has four subtests – Language Arts Reading, Math, Science and Social Studies. However, the Language Arts Reading subtest also contains a score for Writing.

If you did not pass the Language Arts Writing subtest on the HiSET or TASC, you can opt to take the Language Arts Reading subtest of the GED to earn a Writing score. Likewise, if you did not meet the passing score for Writing on the Language Arts Reading subtest of the GED, you can opt to take just the Language Arts Writing section of the HiSET or TASC.

The TASC assessment was no longer administered after December 31, 2021. The HiSet was no longer administered after May 31, 2023. Students who took the TASC and HiSET and did not pass all subtests are advised to take the remaining subtests through the GED assessment. Any fees already paid for the TASC or HiSET assessment are not refundable.  You may discuss your fee options for the remaining subtexts with either the test center or GED.

If you are a qualified candidate with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD), a physical disability, or a psychological disability, you can ask for a special edition of the tests, or modifications to the test administration that will assist you. The passing score requirements are the same for all candidates. A special accommodation approved by one test vendor may only be valid for that test and further verification of the disability may be needed by another vendor if you chose to take their test. Please visit How to Request Special Accommodations on the Adult Education webpage.

It takes about three to four weeks for GED to transmit scores to the New Jersey Department of Education’s database. Test scores are received from GED every Monday. Diplomas and transcripts are printed the following day on Tuesday and are in the outgoing mail on Wednesday.

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) mailed diplomas only to those students who passed the test with the new passing scores who tested from December 1, 2019 through March 5, 2020. Test takers affected by the new passing scores prior to that time (starting January 1, 2014) need to provide the NJDOE Adult Education unit with their  test vendor identification number, social security number (SSN) or taxpayer identification number, if possible, date of birth and current address in a letter or email to adulted@doe.nj.gov.

Per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the federal privacy law, a signed request from the student is required to release any education/testing information. Please enter your access or verification code to access your official transcript.

After you take one of the tests, you can use your GED or HiSET ID number and your last name on our test history webpage to see when your scores are received form the vendor.

When all scores received are passing, a diploma date will appear. If you have a question whether or not we received all scores, you can use the same code and your last name on the test history option. If your test scores do not appear, please email the New Jersey Department of Education’s Adult Education Office (adulted@doe.nj.gov) as soon as possible. We will contact the appropriate vendor or research for any database issue that needs to be resolved. Once you see your diploma date, you can print the official transcript and diploma verification for school and employment.

Technology allows the NJ DOE to use access and verification codes. All individuals who have earned a state-issued high school diploma have an access code, and since May 2007 that code has been on the diploma and transcript. Either code can be used, but not both at the same time, and are entered into the appropriate field, on the Diploma Verification Process webpage. That page has a link to accessing the transcript, and a separate link to access diploma verification. Both documents indicate passing and that a diploma was earned. The transcript is usually used for school or training, and the diploma verification for employment. Please note that the New Jersey Department of Education does not mail any document with a raised seal. Please direct anyone with questions about this policy to this document.

If you plan on applying to a postsecondary school or gaining employment that requires a high school diploma, the first thing to do is have your foreign transcript translated and evaluated by World Education Services. Once your transcript has been translated and evaluated, you can see if it will then be accepted by the postsecondary school or employer.

If the postsecondary school or employer will not accept the translated and evaluated transcript and wants a high school diploma from the United States, you can obtain a New Jersey high school diploma by one of the three pathways outlined below:

1. You can take a New Jersey High School Equivalency Assessment (HSEA). Upon successful completion of an HSEA, you will receive a state-issued high school diploma. This pathway is the quickest and most cost effective.
2. You can attend one of our adult high schools in New Jersey by bringing your translated and evaluated foreign transcript to the adult high school for evaluation. Minimally, you would have to take an American civics or social studies class; however, each student’s case is different. Upon successful completion of the high school requirements, you will receive a state-endorsed high school diploma.

This pathway can be more costly and time consuming.

3. You can also earn a state-issued high school diploma via the 30-college credit pathway.

This pathway can be very costly and can take some time if you aren’t already earning credits at a community college.

No. Once a test series ends, a student who has not passed all portions of the test and achieved the total score of 2250 will have to take a new assessment.

All the current assessments are aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Teachers should prepare and teach towards these rigorous standards. Preparation materials and professional development are offered by the test vendors.

All New Jersey high schools, community and four-year colleges, state agencies, and nonprofit companies are currently permitted to be test centers. Public schools, libraries and government agencies can contact the New Jersey Department of Education, Office of Adult Education, if they wish to become a test center. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) will need to be completed.

The New Jersey Department of Education allows for-profit and nonprofit companies, apprenticeship programs, and others to become test centers, as well. This is done by a Request for Qualifications for New Jersey Adult Education Test Centers for High School Equivalency Assessment. Test centers contract with any of the three NJDOE-approved test vendors. Offering multiple assessments is encouraged.

All tests are now offered on the computer. A paper test will only be offered if you apply for and receive a special accommodation from the test vendor.

Those who took the GED prior to January 1, 2014, and did not pass all sections, or passed all sections but did not have the total score needed and didn’t receive a state credential, are not able to have the scores transferred to New Jersey as they have expired.

The current GED and HiSET taken in another state that did not result in the awarding of a credential from that state can be transferred to New Jersey. The test taker must notify the test center and/or test vendor so that the scores can be transferred to New Jersey.

Those who took the TASC test in another state that did not result in the awarding of a credential from that state must contact that state for your scores to be transferred to New Jersey. Those transferring from New York State need to contact hse@nysed.gov

The level of math skills possessed by GED graduates has come under review in the pursuit of educational enhancement as well as in seeking employment opportunities. Apprenticeship programs for certain unionized trades also have specific requirements for appropriate math skills. The math skills most often questioned are those surrounding Algebra, specifically whether or not the level of Algebra contained in the pre-2014 GED test is equivalent to an Algebra One class at the high school level. Upon consulting with the GED Testing Service in Washington, D.C., the following explanation can be offered regarding the level of Algebra covered in the GED Math test.

Approximately 25% of the test questions cover the major Algebra concepts. Most of these concepts would be encountered in a typical Algebra One course, but some, particularly the more difficult equation types, may only be studied in later Algebra courses. A quote from a math teacher with over thirty years’ experience as well as being a Mathematics Test Specialist with the GED Testing Service sums it up best:"...the breadth of mathematics tested on the GED Mathematics Test far exceeds that encompassed by a typical Algebra One course of study alone." In addition to the content areas covered. They are divided into three cognitive levels – Application, Modeling and Problem Solving.

If your organization is interested in becoming a high school equivalency test center, please call us at (609)376-3883 and speak with Larry Breeden.  A request for qualifications (RFQ) would be completed once you have demonstrated you have administered wide-scale assessment tests.