Originally designed in the 1940s for veterans and other military personnel who hadn't finished high school, Canada and the United States began to use the GED exam as a measure of high school equivalency. Since its inception, there have been four different versions of this test, all administered by the American Council on Education (ACE).
Each section measures the test-taker's proficiency and knowledge in that area. Passing scores correlate to the performance of typical high school seniors. The tests are offered in multiple languages, including Braille, reports the ACE website.
The GED exam takes about seven hours to complete, including breaks, and each section lasts for a different length of time.
According to the ACE website, the GED exam is administered only on paper, at 3,400 registered testing facilities in all 50 U.S. states, Canada, and military, jail and hospital facilities around the world.
To receive a completion certificate or diploma after taking the GED exam, a test-taker must earn "a combined minimum score of 2250 and a minimum of 410 on each content area test," the ACE website says.