Welcome to the GED® Preparation Program at Riverside Adult School

You are not alone! More than 39 million American adults do not have a high school diploma. The GED test is a chance for you to earn a high school equivalency diploma. Passing the GED test proves that you have the same skills required of someone who has earned a high school diploma. Why do employers want a high school diploma? They don’t really care about a piece of paper. They care about what it represents: skills. Skills that are useful in the workplace! The skills that the GED test measures are valuable ones: reading, writing to communicate, mathematics, problem solving, critical thinking, evaluation, and information processing. 

The GED test has been updated to make sure it measures what graduating high school seniors know and what colleges and employers will expect of you. There are four tests:

• Science: 90 minutes
• Social Studies: 75 minutes
• Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA): 155 minutes, including an 10 minute break
• Mathematical Reasoning: 120 minutes, including  a 10 minute break

You do not have to take all 4 tests at once, in fact we do not recommend it. You should try one or two sections at a time after attending preparation classes. You and your teacher will decide which test and when is the time to take it. Riverside Adult School is an authorized GED testing center so you can take your official test here when you are ready.

Although you do not have to take formal classes in order to take the GED® test, Riverside Adult School offers you the opportunity to learn from our experienced teachers who can help get you prepared to take the GED® test. Classes are offered in the morning, afternoon, evening and online. We have listed the steps you need to take in order to register for classes at Riverside Adult School.

1. Registration. You will need to come down to the school and complete the registration process. We hold new student registration every 4-5 weeks. Please check the main website for dates: ras.riversideunified.org  You will fill out a registration form that asks basic information required of new students. Next you will take an assessment test. This test takes approximately 1 hour and is required for entry into any program at Riverside Adult School. The CASAS assessment system is used at Riverside Adult School to help all potential students entering into adult literacy education, GED® preparation, or English as a Second Language discover their proper skill placement level. CASAS tests assess a student's skill levels needed for success in the workplace, community, and family and establishes measurable goals and learning outcomes. You can plan on being at the school for about 1.5 to 2 hours for registration and assessment.

2. Classes are free. But these two things are HIGHLY recommended: There is absolutely no charge to take any class at Riverside Adult School. However, if you would like your own copy of the GED® workbook to keep at home you may purchase one yourself. We have copies of the workbook and all of our materials on hand for you to use in class but if you would like to use the materials at home you need to purchase them. Right now they are around $15 at Amazon. Here is a link to the current Kaplan GED® Test Preparation workbook on Amazon.com. Any GED® test preparation book will be fine as long as it is 2014 or newer. Sometimes you can find them at your local library. It is STRONGLY suggested that you acquire a test preparation book to use at home to study. Also, a Texas Instruments TI-30XS MultiView Scientific Calculator is a highly recommended tool for our GED students. You can get one almost anywhere for around $15 but here is a link to the TI-30XS on Amazon.com

3. Sign up for a GED.com account. Our preparation classes are free, but when you are ready to take the actual GED® test, the tests are not free. Sometimes this is confusing since Riverside Adult School does not charge for classes. We are not the ones charging you for the test, "Pearson GED" is a company who supplies the actual test. Riverside Adult School is an authorized testing center for Pearson/GED. You will need to pay them directly at GED.com once you are ready to take the test. Currently each section costs $35. There is also a lot of other useful information at GED.com and your teacher will want you to have set up an account prior to starting class (see the top of the page). Setting up your account does not cost anything but we want you to be familiar with it and that is where you will take practice tests while you are in our classes. At GED.com you can schedule and pay for your tests, check your scores, and if needed, reschedule a GED® test. Everything is neatly organized, and you can find a lot of useful information here.

4. Attendance. You can normally begin class immediately after registration. We expect you to attend regularly for the time period you have signed up for. You may be dropped if your attendance becomes irregular. Communication with your teacher is very important.

5. Continued CASAS tests. CASAS stands for (C)omprehensive (A)dult (S)tudent (A)ssessment (S)ystems. Due to federal regulations we are required to continually assess our students to ensure that progress is being made. You will be asked to take CASAS post tests once you have attended a certain number of hours. This helps us report progress to the state and federal government which is one measure used to determine the amount of funding out program receives. So the easy way to explain the reason why you have to take these tests is: it is how we keep our program FREE!

6. Take the GED® test. Once you and your teacher decide that you are ready to take the test you will sign up at GED.com. You can take the test at any certified testing center listed at GED.com, but Riverside Adult School offers the test a few times a month and normally our students are notified about upcoming tests and are able to register before the general public does. Each section of the test costs $35 and you pay the GED® testing service directly through the account you have previously created. Your teacher can help you with signing up for the test.

7. Graduate. Pass all sections of the test and participate in our graduation ceremony! Riverside Adult School holds a graduation ceremony for High School Diploma graduates and GED®/High School Equivalency completers once per year at the end of the school year.