QUINCY, ILL. -- The exam taken to receive a GED is undergoing changes in the near future, but the changes may not be what a test taker hopes for. The state of Illinois is raising the cost of the GED exam by more than double the original cost of fifty dollars.
The new exam will be administered through computer rather than in the paper format it is in currently. It will cost one hundred and twenty dollars. Starting January of 2014, the new test format takes over.
John Wood Community College holds free classes for GED preparation as well as for preparing the test takers for life in a new career or secondary school. The classes are funded by grants. Monica Foster is a coordinator of adult learning at John Wood and teaches one of the preparation courses.
Foster said if people are going to take the exam, they should take it before the new test is administered.
She explained that the current GED is split up into five different tests. With the current exam, a person can pass parts of the exam and retake the test to pass the other sections. Starting January of 2014, people will not be able to retake only to pass certain sections, but will have to retake the entire test.
Foster says that even with the increase in costs for the exam, there will still be a steady flow of people taking the tests. She also says she expects the preparation classes will remain free.
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