General Educational Development (GED) test takers and test passers, by age: 1971 through 2010

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Table 115.

Year	Number of test takers (in thousands)			Percentage distribution of test passers, by age¹
Year	Total²	Completing test battery³	Passing tests⁴	16 to 18 years old		19 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	⁶	27	⁶	13	9	17
1975	—	—	340	33	⁶	26	⁶	14	9	18

1976	—	—	333	31	⁶	28	⁶	14	10	17
1977	—	—	330	40	⁶	24	⁶	13	8	14
1978	—	—	381	31	⁶	27	⁶	13	10	18
1979	—	—	426	37	⁶	28	⁶	12	13	11
1980	—	—	479	37	⁶	27	⁶	13	8	15

1981	—	—	489	37	⁶	27	⁶	13	8	14
1982	—	—	486	37	⁶	28	⁶	13	8	15
1983	—	—	465	34	⁶	29	⁶	14	8	15
1984	—	—	427	32	⁶	28	⁶	15	9	16
1985	—	—	413	32	⁶	26	⁶	15	10	16

1986	—	—	428	32	⁶	26	⁶	15	10	17
1987	—	—	444	33	⁶	24	⁶	15	10	18
1988	—	—	410	35	⁶	22	⁶	14	10	18
1989	632	541	357	22		37		13	—	—
1990	714	615	410	22		39		13	10	15

1991	755	657	462	20		40		13	10	16
1992	739	639	457	22		39		13	9	17
1993	746	651	469	22		38		13	10	16
1994	774	668	491	25		37		13	10	15
1995	787	682	504	27		36		13	9	15

1996	824	716	488	27		37		13	9	14
1997	785	681	460	31		36		12	8	13
1998	776	673	481	32		36		11	7	13
1999	808	702	498	32		37		11	7	13
2000	811	699	487	33		37		11	7	13

2001⁷	1,016	928	648	29		38		11	8	14
2002⁷	557	467	330	38		36		10	6	11
2003	657	552	387	35		37		10	7	11
2004	666	570	406	35		38		11	6	10
2005	681	588	424	34		37		12	7	11

2006	676	580	398	35		36		12	6	11
2007	692	600	429	35		35		12	7	11
2008	737	642	469	34		35		13	7	11
2009	748	645	448	31		36		13	8	12
2010	720	623	452	27		37		14	9	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.
⁶ For 1988 and prior years, 19-year-olds are included with the 16- to 18-year-olds instead of the 19- to 24-year-olds.
⁷ A revised GED test was introduced in 2002. In 2001, test takers were required to successfully complete all five components of the GED or else begin the five-part series again with the new test that was introduced in 2002.
NOTE: Data are for the United States only and exclude other jurisdictions, except where noted. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
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 through 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from http://www.acenet.edu/Content/NavigationMenu/ged/pubs/GED_ASR_2010.pdf. (This table was prepared July 2011.)

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