High School Equivalency Exams: GED, HiSET and Which One Your State Wants

Start With Your State, Not the Test

The United States has no single national high school equivalency test. Two are in active use, the GED and the HiSET, and your state's education department decides which one you can sit, what you pay, and whether an alternative route exists. Some states offer only the GED. Others offer both. A few lean on HiSET, and Iowa's state program is one of them. Everything else on this page assumes you will confirm that first, because a strong score on a test your state doesn't recognize earns you nothing.

Both tests end in the same place: a state-issued high school equivalency diploma or certificate. What differs is the format, the scoring, and how the work is split up.

How the Equivalency Options Compare

The GED's four tests are timed separately: 150 minutes for language arts, 115 for math, 90 for science, and 70 for social studies. Math is the one with the calculator wrinkle. The first handful of questions are calculator-free, and after that you use the TI-30XS, either on screen or your own at the test center. Learn that calculator before test day. It costs nothing and saves  minutes.

HiSET runs longer in total, a little over seven and a half hours across five subtests, but its modular design means you can knock out one subtest at a time.

Why TASC Still Shows Up in Search Results

You will still find practice questions labelled TASC. The test was retired nationwide at the end of 2021, and states that used it, including New York, California and West Virginia, had already moved to the GED or HiSET. If a resource is built around TASC, it is out of date for any test you can take today.

State Pathways That Skip the Test Entirely

Some states offer a credit-based or postsecondary route to a diploma alongside testing. Iowa, for example, added alternative pathways in 2018 based on accumulated secondary credit or completing a postsecondary credential. If you have scattered high school credits or some college experience, ask your state's adult education office before booking anything. Exploring Digital Marketing & Analytics can also complement your educational journey and support your future career development.

Who Should Start Where

You live in a GED-only state. Decision made. Begin with the GED, and treat the full-length practice test as a diagnostic before you pay for any official subject.

Your state offers both. Pick by how you work. If you prefer sitting one subject at a time on paper, or you want to test from home, HiSET has more flexibility on format. If you want the credential most widely recognized by name, and a scoring system that includes College Ready and college-credit tiers, the GED is the safer default. Neither choice is wrong.

You are stronger at reading than math. Almost everyone reports math as the hard one. Start there rather than saving it for last, because it is the subject most likely to need a retake.

You have already passed some subjects on one test. Ask before switching. Many states let you combine scores across vendors, but conditions apply: older GED scores generally can't be combined with current ones, and the state must receive official transcripts. Confirm with your testing center first.

You are under 18. Minimum ages vary by state. Eighteen is common, and younger candidates typically have to be formally withdrawn from school and sometimes need parental consent.

What Colleges, Employers and the Military Actually Do With It

Broadly, this credential clears the "high school diploma or equivalent" box on job applications, community college enrollment and most apprenticeship programs. That is the honest ceiling of the claim. Individual employers and schools vary, and some competitive programs still prefer a traditional diploma or look beyond it to other evidence of readiness.

The GED adds a useful signal at the top end. Scores of 165–174 earn a College Ready designation, which some colleges accept in place of placement testing, and 175 or higher can earn college credit at institutions that recognize it. HiSET has no equivalent tiers at the same scale, which matters if you plan to go straight into college.

Military enlistment is the place to check before you commit. Branches have historically set different requirements for equivalency holders than for diploma graduates, so a conversation with a recruiter about your specific branch is worth having early.

Career and Education Paths High School Equivalency Exams  Credential Opens

• Community college degrees and transfer routes to four-year schools

• Registered apprenticeships in the skilled trades

• Entry roles in healthcare support, manufacturing, logistics and administration that list a diploma or equivalent as the requirement

• Military enlistment, subject to branch requirements

• Postsecondary certificate programs that require proof of high school completion

For many candidates the equivalency credential is a gate rather than a destination. The question worth asking is what you plan to walk through it toward, then choosing a score goal to match. Passing at 145 clears the gate. Aiming for 165 in the subjects tied to your plan, especially math for nursing or trades programs, can save you a placement test later.

What Has Shifted in High School Equivalency Exams Field

The most visible change is consolidation. The TASC's exit left two tests standing, and some states have revisited their vendor contracts more than once since, so the list of states offering HiSET has moved and will probably move again. Verify against your state's education website rather than an old blog post.

Testing logistics have also loosened. HiSET offers an at-home option, and the GED offers online-proctored testing in eligible states, typically at a higher fee than the test center. Alternative credit-based pathways are spreading in states like Iowa, which gives some adults a way to a diploma that doesn't depend on a test score at all.