July 31 Deadline To Register For GED Test For This Year

Anyone who plans to take a GED test in McHenry County this year must register and pay for the GED test in person by July 31 or will need to wait until a new test comes out in January 2014.

Test takers must register and pay $50 in person at the Regional Office of Education in Woodstock, located in the McHenry County Government Center, 2200 North Seminary Avenue (Route 47) in Woodstock. After registering, test takers must also sign up for a testing date in person at McHenry County College, 8900 U.S. Hwy. 14 in Crystal Lake. The last testing date for new testers at McHenry County College is Oct. 5 and for re-testers, the deadline is mid-December.

“Another option for students who do not take the current paper and pencil test by Oct. 5 is to take the test on computer until mid-December at Elgin Community College (ECC),” said Sherry May, coordinator of Adult Education instruction at MCC.

 The current test is being replaced with a computer-based test on Jan. 2, 2014, which will have a longer writing time (from 45 minutes to 90 minutes) and will cost $120, instead of the current $50.

As an incentive to get more test takers to take a computer-based GED test, the GED Testing Service is offering students an opportunity to begin their GED test on computer with one free retake if they fail their first test. The offer is part of the Second Shot program, which has been extended through August 31 at selected sites throughout the state. The closest site for McHenry County area GED test takers is Elgin Community College. Computer-based testing fees are $24 per test with payment by credit or debit only. Beginning in 2014, tests will be $30 each. Currently, the computer-based test is not available at McHenry County College.

According to the GED Testing Service, the pass rate for adults who take the GED test on computer was 88 percent compared with 71 percent for those who tested on paper. In addition, the average completion time for computer-based test takers is 5.5 hours compared to 7.5 hours for testing on paper, according to the testing service.

Test takers who are taking the computer-based test can register for up to two tests at a time. Test takers will be given an ID number that they need to save. Most people receive their test results before they leave the ECC testing Center, May said.

ECC is a pilot site for the computer-based GED testing this year and is available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays through the summer. Beginning in the fall, computer-based testing at ECC will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays.

Registration for computer-based testing is done only online at www.GEDtestingservice.com. For more information, contact the Regional Office of Education at (815) 334-4475 or Sherry May at MCC, at (815) 479-7568.