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The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high school diploma, as is

HiSET HiSET stands for High School Equivalency Test. It is an alternative to a United States high school diploma and the GED and TASC test. The test was designed based on the OCTAE College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education. It is go ...

. The GED Testing Service website currently does not refer to the test as anything but "GED". The

American Council on Education The American Council on Education (ACE) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) U.S. higher education association established in 1918. ACE's members are the leaders of approximately 1,700 accredited, degree-granting colleges and universities and higher educatio ...

(ACE), in Washington, D.C. (U.S.), which owns the GED

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

, coined the initialism to identify "tests of general equivalency development" that measure proficiency in science, mathematics, social studies, reading, and writing. Passing the GED test gives those who do not complete high school, or who do not meet requirements for

high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to g ...

, the opportunity to earn their high school equivalency credential, also called a high school equivalency development or general equivalency diploma. It is called the GED in the majority of the United States, C