GED Test Free To Kentuckians Through June 30

General equivalency diploma tests, commonly known as GED tests, will be free to Kentuckians through June 30. Kentucky Adult Education, a unit of the Council on Postsecondary Education, will pay the usual $55 fee during this period.

This is a great benefit for anyone who wants a fresh start on a high school diploma and a postsecondary education, said Peg Russell, director of Adult Education and COMPASS coordinator for Gateway Community & Technical College.

Gateway administers GED tests at the Urban Center, 525 Scott Boulevard in Covington, and at its Edgewood Campus at 790 Thomas More Parkway. For more information and to check available dates at Gateway test sites, Kentucky residents can go to http://gateway.kctcs.edu/Academics/Testing_Services/GED or call (859) 442-1166. Information is also available from Cindy Sproehnle, Gateway Assessment Center director, at (859) 442-1159.

According to the Council on Postsecondary Education, free GED classes are available through local adult education programs in all 120 Kentucky counties. To be eligible to take the GED, students must first successfully complete the GED Official Practice Test to make sure they are prepared for the actual test.

The GED tests provide adults who did not finish high school with the opportunity to certify their attainment of high school-level academic knowledge and skills. The GED consists of five parts reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies. Completing the entire test battery takes just over seven hours. GED tests are currently offered only in a paper-pencil format at official GED Testing Centers the tests cannot be taken online.

According to the CPE, state GED administrators often receive reports from adults who have spent time and money pursuing what they believe are accredited high school equivalency credentials online. Consumers find, after spending $200-$1,200, that these dubious credentials are not accepted by employers, colleges or universities.