Table 107.

General Educational Development (GED) test takers and test passers, by age: 1971 through 2008

Year	Number of test takers (in thousands)			Percentage distribution of test passers, by age1
	Total2	Completing test battery3	Passing tests4	19 years old or less	20 to 24 years old	25 to 29 years old	30 to 34 years old	35 years old or over
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
19715	377	—	227	—	—	—	—	—
19725	419	—	245	—	—	—	—	—
19735	423	—	249	—	—	—	—	—
1974	—	—	294	35	27	13	9	17
1975	—	—	340	33	26	14	9	18
1976	—	—	333	31	28	14	10	17
1977	—	—	330	40	24	13	8	14
1978	—	—	381	31	27	13	10	18
1979	—	—	426	37	28	12	13	11
1980	—	—	479	37	27	13	8	15
1981	—	—	489	37	27	13	8	14
1982	—	—	486	37	28	13	8	15
1983	—	—	465	34	29	14	8	15
1984	—	—	427	32	28	15	9	16
1985	—	—	413	32	26	15	10	16
1986	—	—	428	32	26	15	10	17
1987	—	—	444	33	24	15	10	18
1988	—	—	410	35	22	14	10	18
1989	632	541	357	35	24	13	—	—
1990	714	615	410	36	25	13	10	15
1991	755	657	462	33	28	13	10	16
1992	739	639	457	33	28	13	9	17
1993	746	651	469	33	27	13	10	16
1994	774	668	491	36	25	13	9	15
1995	787	682	504	38	25	13	9	15
1996	824	716	488	39	25	13	9	14
1997	785	681	460	43	24	12	8	13
1998	776	673	481	44	24	11	7	13
1999	808	702	498	44	25	11	7	13
2000	811	699	487	45	25	11	7	13
2001	1,016	928	648	41	26	11	8	14
2002	557	467	330	49	25	10	6	11
2003	657	552	387	47	26	10	7	11
2004	666	570	406	46	26	11	6	10
2005	681	588	424	45	26	12	7	11
2006	676	580	398	46	25	12	6	11
2007	692	600	429	46	24	12	7	11
2008	737	642	469	41	24	13	8	14

—Not available.

1 People who did not report their age were excluded from this calculation. Age data for 1988 and prior years are for all test takers and may not be comparable to data for later years.

2 All people taking the GED tests (one or more subtests).

3 People completing the entire GED battery of five tests.

4 Data for 2002 and later years are for people passing the GED tests (i.e., earning both a passing total score on the test battery and a passing score on each individual test). Data for 2001 and prior years are for high school equivalency credentials issued by the states to GED test passers. In order to receive high school equivalency credentials in some states, GED test passers must meet additional state requirements (e.g., complete an approved course in civics or government).

5 Includes other jurisdictions, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa.

NOTE: Data are for the United States only and exclude other jurisdictions, except where noted. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: American Council on Education, General Educational Development Testing Service, the GED annual Statistical Report, 1971 through 1992; Who Took the GED? 1993 through 2001; Who Passed the GED Tests? 2002 through 2005; and GED Testing Program Statistical Report, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2009, from http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ged/pubs/GED_ASR_2008.pdf. (This table was prepared November 2009.)