Get Real: Expectations for GED® Test Readiness

A common question we get from new students is how long it will take them before they’re ready to take the GED® test. “If I come to class a lot, can I have it in two weeks? A month?”

Unfortunately, this unrealistic timeline is often echoed by workplaces or court programs that require a person to earn their GED credential by a certain deadline. They fail to realize that when an adult is making up for years of being out of school, plus years of not learning or retaining lessons while still in school, it’s going to take more than two months to fill in the educational gaps.

On average, Seeds of Literacy grads attend 81 class hours before they pass all sections of the GED test. If we break that into one class session a week, that means these grads attended classes for about 10 months before earning their GED credential. Over 27% of our grads attended more than the average hours.

This isn’t a disheartening fact, though — on the contrary, having realistic expectations of the effort and time that need to go into preparing yourself to pass the GED exam can prevent frustration and disillusionment down the line.

We tell our students at Seeds of Literacy that there is no right or wrong amount of time before their skills are at GED-test levels. Everyone starts with a different set of skills and learns at a different pace.

Think about it: a 19-year-old who attended school through the 11th grade will probably be closer to GED-level skills when beginning to study for the test than a 40-year-old who left school in the 8th grade. (And from our experience, there are many people who need a GED credential who are like the latter type.)

Students have different distances to go before reaching the finish line, but they can do it — they just have to take their own time and be realistic about how long their “own time” might be.

If you’d like to work towards your GED credential, Seeds of Literacy can help. Learn more about enrolling with us.