The GED is four separate subject tests: Mathematical Reasoning, Reasoning Through Language Arts, Social Studies and Science. You need 145 or higher on each, on a 100–200 scale. You sit them one at a time, in any order, and you keep every subject you pass. Testing time runs from 70 minutes for Social Studies to 150 for language arts.
Formally the GED (General Educational Development) test. Awarding body: GED Testing Service. Neuron Trainer is an independent study app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the organization that owns this exam.
Every row below is quoted from a document published by GED Testing Service and carries the date we checked it. Where GED Testing Service publishes nothing, the row says so instead of quoting a number from somewhere else.
Sections
Four separate subject tests: Mathematical Reasoning, Reasoning Through Language Arts, Social Studies and Science. Each is scheduled, sat and paid for separately.Source: GED Testing Service, verified 7 August 2026
Time limit
Mathematical Reasoning 115 minutes; Reasoning Through Language Arts 150 minutes (including 45 minutes for the written essay and a 10-minute break between parts 2 and 3); Science 90 minutes; Social Studies 70 minutes. Each figure includes instructions and final review time.Source: GED Testing Service, verified 7 August 2026
Passing score
145 or higher on each of the four subjects.Source: GED Testing Service, verified 7 August 2026
GED College Ready is 165–174; GED College Ready + Credit is 175–200 (US only), which GED Testing Service says can qualify for up to 10 college credit hours.Source: GED Testing Service, verified 7 August 2026
Calculator policy
An on-screen calculator is available on part 2 of Mathematical Reasoning and on Science and Social Studies. Test-takers may also bring their own TI-30XS to a test center.Source: GED Testing Service, verified 7 August 2026
Questions
Not published by GED Testing Service. GED Testing Service does not publish a fixed number of questions per subject. Any site quoting one is guessing.
Fee
Not published by GED Testing Service. The GED fee is set by each state or jurisdiction, not by GED Testing Service, so there is no single national price. Check your own state's page on ged.com.
Retake policy
Not published by GED Testing Service. Retake rules and free-retake allowances are set state by state.
Passrate
Not published by GED Testing Service. We do not publish a GED pass rate. Any figure we could quote would be an aggregate over jurisdictions with different rules.
How long scores last
Not published by GED Testing Service. GED Testing Service’s own scores page states no expiry for GED scores or for the credential: neither “expire” nor “valid” appears on it.Checked against: GED Testing Service, Scores, verified 7 August 2026
Always verify: passing scores and time limits come from GED Testing Service, and the fee and retake rules are set by your own state. Confirm current details at ged.com before you book.
What our GED question bank covers
What this app's question bank covers — our own category shares across 2,541 questions, not GED Testing Service's published blueprint.
Questions drawn from the 2,541-question bank that ships in the GED app, one from each of the four subjects. Every answer carries the explanation we ship inside the app.
What actually trips people up on the GED
Order of operations and multi-step arithmetic
Mathematical Reasoning questions rarely test one operation. They stack a percentage on a ratio, or an exponent inside a sum. Candidates who can do each step in isolation still lose marks by evaluating left-to-right instead of by PEMDAS.
Setting up a two-variable system from a word problem
A large share of the harder Mathematical Reasoning items give you a total count and a total value and ask for one component. The arithmetic is easy; translating the sentence into two equations is the part people skip.
Modifier placement and comma splices in the RLA editing items
Reasoning Through Language Arts asks you to fix real sentences, not to name the rule. Dangling modifiers and comma splices are the two errors that recur, and the wrong answers are usually grammatical sentences that changed the meaning.
Reading a science scenario before reaching for a formula
Science items often describe a setup, a front moving in, a block in water, and the work is classifying it correctly. Candidates who jump to computation on a classification question lose time they need later.
Founding-era documents in Social Studies
Social Studies leans hard on civics: which compromise resolved which dispute, which amendment does which job. These are recall facts with very close distractors, and they are the cheapest marks on the test to secure by drilling.
How long to study for the GED, one subject at a time
Twelve weeks is the shape below, and it works subject by subject because the GED lets you sit them separately. This is a shape, not a promise. How long it takes depends on where you start.
Weeks 1–2 · Find the weak subject
Run one Smart Quiz in each of the four categories and compare. Our GED bank holds 2,541 questions split almost evenly across the four subjects (637 math, 647 RLA, 641 science, 616 social studies), so a first pass gives you a fair read on all four rather than a read on whichever we happened to load.
Weeks 3–5 · Book and clear the strongest subject
Sit the subject you scored highest on first. Passing one banks a result at 145+ that cannot be taken away, and it makes the remaining three feel finite.
Weeks 6–9 · Topic Drill the weakest subject
Drill by category, not by random mix. If Mathematical Reasoning is the gap, work the algebra and data-analysis items until the two-equation setups are automatic.
Weeks 10–12 · Full-length practice, then book the rest
Use the Exam Simulator for timing pressure, ours runs 100 questions in 150 minutes. For RLA specifically, practice writing the essay to the clock, since 45 of your 150 minutes go to it.
Is the GED hard?
The GED is not hard in the sense of requiring specialist knowledge: it is hard in the sense that it is four tests, and most people are strong at two of them. The structure is the difficulty. Someone who reads well and struggles with algebra will find Reasoning Through Language Arts unthreatening and Mathematical Reasoning genuinely demanding, and the credential requires both. That is also why the four-separate-sittings design is a gift rather than a burden: you can clear your strong subjects while you are still working on the weak one.
Our own bank gives a fair picture of where the difficulty concentrates. Of 2,541 GED questions we ship, 385 are rated at our easiest level, 986 at the middle level and 1,170 at the hardest, so roughly 46 percent of the bank sits at the top of our three-point scale. That skew is deliberate: the questions people lose marks on are multi-step ones, and drilling single-step arithmetic gives a false sense of readiness. We do not publish a GED pass rate, because any figure would blend jurisdictions with different rules into a number that describes nobody.
How the GED differs from the exams beside it
The GED’s defining feature is that it is four independent tests, not one sitting. You can pass Science in March and Math in September and still walk away with the credential. That makes it unlike the HiSET, which ETS scores on a different model altogether (8 of 20 per subtest plus a 45 of 100 battery total, published at hiset.org), and completely unlike TABE, which is a levelled placement assessment rather than a credential at all. The other GED-specific thing to plan for: Reasoning Through Language Arts carries a 45-minute written essay inside its 150 minutes, so it is the longest single sitting of the four by a wide margin.
Questions people actually ask about the GED
How many questions are on the GED?
GED Testing Service does not publish a fixed question count per subject, so we do not quote one. What is published is the time: 115 minutes for Math, 150 for Reasoning Through Language Arts, 90 for Science and 70 for Social Studies.
What score do you need to pass the GED?
145 or higher on each of the four subjects. The scale runs 100–200. Scoring 165–174 earns the GED College Ready flag and 175–200 earns College Ready + Credit, which GED Testing Service says can be worth up to 10 college credit hours.
Is the GED hard?
Not in the sense of specialist knowledge. It is hard because it is four tests and most people are strong at two of them. Someone who reads well and struggles with algebra finds language arts unthreatening and Mathematical Reasoning genuinely demanding, and the credential needs both. Sitting them separately is what makes that manageable.
Can you take the GED subjects one at a time?
Yes. The four subjects are separate tests, scheduled and paid for separately. Passing one banks that result at 145 or above while you prepare for the others, and you can take them in any order you like.
How much does the GED cost?
It varies. The fee is set by each state or jurisdiction rather than nationally, so there is no single price we can honestly quote. Your state’s page on ged.com has the current figure and any free-retake policy.
Can you use a calculator on the GED?
Yes, on part 2 of Mathematical Reasoning and on the Science and Social Studies tests. An on-screen calculator is provided, and you may also bring your own TI-30XS to a test center.
Is the GED harder than the HiSET?
They are different, not ranked. The GED scores each subject 100–200 with a 145 pass mark. The HiSET, on the scores page ETS publishes at hiset.org, needs 8 of 20 per subtest, at least 2 of 6 on the essay and 45 of 100 across all five. Which one you can sit usually depends on your state.
Are these real GED questions from the actual exam?
No. Reproducing live items would violate GED Testing Service’s test security rules. These are original questions written to the same blueprint, format and difficulty as the real GED, each with the explanation we ship inside the app.
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The app
The GED app is still in development
The GED Test Prep app ships 2,541 questions across all four subjects: 637 math, 647 reasoning through language arts, 641 science and 616 social studies, each with a written explanation. Smart Quiz targets the categories you keep missing, Topic Drill lets you work one subject at a time, and the Exam Simulator runs a 100-question timed session. There is a built-in calculator and an AI tutor you can ask about any question. The app isn’t on the App Store yet; it’s in development. When it ships it will be free to start, with a subscription for the full bank.
Smart Quiz — keeps returning to the categories you keep missing
Topic Drill — one category at a time, on its own
Exam Simulator — a fixed-length timed paper (100 questions in 150 minutes, as this app sets it). It does not get harder as you go; the length and the mix are fixed.
AI tutor — re-explains any question in plain English
Progress tracking, reported per category
On-screen calculator
Study reminders
Light and dark themes
The app calls you ready at 65% on its own simulator. That is an in-app practice target we chose, not GED Testing Service's passing standard.
Not on the App Store yet. This one is still in development, so there is nothing to download today. The practice questions above are the whole of what we can give you right now, and they are free and complete. See where it sits in the queue, or browse the apps that are live.
Drill all four subjects until test day is boring
The GED app carries 2,541 exam-style questions with explanations, a calculator, timed simulations and an AI tutor that will talk you through anything you got wrong.
This page was last reviewed on . The 6 facts quoted above were last checked against their sources on . Where GED Testing Service publishes nothing, the table above says so rather than guessing.
GED is a registered trademark of the American Council on Education. Neuron Trainer is independent study software and is not affiliated with, authorized by or endorsed by ACE or GED Testing Service.