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Open free GED Social Studies prep resources ↗Exam facts & prep options
GED Social Studies
GED Social Studies is one of the four subject tests of the GED high-school-equivalency battery; it measures reasoning skills — not memorization — applied to civics and government, United States history, economics, and geography and the world, using primary and secondary source documents and data displays.
Official exam siteJump to prep options ↓
QuestionsAbout 35 questions
Testing time70 minutes
ScoringPassing score of 145 on the subject test; 165–174 = GED College Ready, 175–200 = GED College Ready + Credit (up to 10 college credit hours)
Exam feeVaries by state/area — no single published amount; per-subject fees are shown through ged.com's area selector (USD, set by each jurisdiction), with discounted retakes at test centers and free testing through participating GEDWorks employers
Prep options
Study resources for GED Social Studies
Independent prep
Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- GED Testing Service
- Category
- High School Equivalency
- Current version
- 2014 GED test series (fifth test series, 2014–present)
- Where it applies
- United States — national
- Exam languages
- English, Spanish
- Score scale
- 100–200 (scaled)
- Testing provider
- Pearson VUE (official test centers; OnVUE online proctoring for the online GED test)
- Format
- Computer-delivered reasoning test — not a memorization test: candidates apply social studies concepts, read graphs and charts displaying social studies data, and interpret information; taken at a test center or online with an online proctor
- Availability
- By appointment: online 24 hours a day (online proctors work around the clock) in participating states, or in person at a local test center
- Results
- Same-day scoring with a personalized score report
- Remote testing
- Varies by jurisdiction
Exam structure
One of four GED subject modules; content assessed across four core domains — civics and government, United States history, economics, and geography and the world — via 11 published Social Studies Practices (inference, evaluating reasoning and evidence, interpreting graphs and charts, etc.), with stimulus materials drawn primarily from primary and secondary source documents
Where rules vary
The four-subject GED battery is the uniform U.S. high-school-equivalency test; states and territories set eligibility rules and fees ("Age and other testing requirements also vary by area"), and the 2014-series has also been extended to the international jurisdiction community since May 2017 (Canada excepted)
Eligibility
Eligibility (age and other testing requirements) is set by each state/area; for online testing, a 'green' GED Ready practice-test score within the last 60 days is required for each subject tested online
Retake policy
Online: after two failed attempts, a 60-day wait before another online test; in person: retakes can be scheduled right away with discounted retake pricing at test centers