For most purposes, a GED is considered to be the same as a high school diploma. However, it is thought by some that the test is easier than it should be, and it is looked down upon by some employers as a lower form of degree than an actual high school diploma.
The most common criticism is of the test battery's mainly multiple choice format. Others argue that the reading comprehension test is too simplistic, and that there are too many basic operations on the mathematics portion and not enough advanced algebra and geometry questions.
Supporters argue that the 70% rate of in completion on the first try at taking the test shows that it is harder than commonly believed. They also point out that the test is administered to a representative sample of graduating high school seniors each year, and about 30% fail.1
In response to these criticisms, the test was revised in 2002 to make it more difficult to pass. One of the most important revisions was one which made it more difficult to guess correct answers from the choices provided. This greater degree of difficulty is achieved by demanding students to show the process for finding the correct answer to a question, as opposed to simply providing a result. For example, a typical mathematics question will not ask what the second leg of a right triangle is when the length of only the first leg and the hypotenuse is given, but instead which formula should be used to find the correct answer. This requires the student to not only know the correct answer, but also explain how to find it. It also uses both algebra and geometry, as opposed to just one discipline of mathematics.
A number of the questions also contain options such as "Not enough information given," "None of the above," and "No correction is necessary" as possible answers. These are found most frequently on the Mathematics and Language Arts, Writing: Part I tests.