Characteristics of High School Equivalency Exams in New Jersey - Key Findings

Sep 14, 2026

High school equivalency exams enable students who did not complete high school to demonstrate skills and earn credentials that support postsecondary education and employment pathways. A REL Mid-Atlantic study examines New Jersey test takers enrolled in grade 8 between 2008/09 and 2013/14 and testing from March 2014 to December 2018. Results show comparable difficulty across GED, HiSET, and TASC based on grade 8 performance, with the math subject test having the lowest first-attempt pass rates.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

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What are high school equivalency exams?

Study overview in New Jersey

Passing likelihood on first attempt

Subject-level passing differences

Key takeaways

Characteristics of high-school equivalency test takers

Features of high-school equivalency exams

Characteristics of high school equivalency exams and the students who take them in New Jersey What are high school equivalency exams? High school equivalency exams are tests which students who do not finish high school can take to demonstrate their skills and knowledge and earn a high school equivalency credential. These credentials can open the doors to postsecondary education and employment opportunities. For instance, students who have this credential can receive federal financial aid to attend a postsecondary institution or to participate in training programs.1 The test developers suggest a passing score, but states may set their own passing score. The GED and HiSET also include a higher score indicating college and career readiness.3 This infographic shares findings from a REL Mid-Atlantic study that investigated characteristics of high school equivalency exams in New Jersey and the students who take them. States considering changing the tests they offer or the passing scores for these tests can use this information to understand how these exams compare. [https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/midatlantic/app](https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/midatlantic/app) Regional Educational Laboratory at Mathematica High school equivalency exams in New Jersey REL Mid-Atlantic examined the characteristics of test takers in New Jersey who had been enrolled in grade 8 in New Jersey public schools from 2008/09 to 2013/14 and took a high school equivalency exam from March 2014 to December 2018. Test takers with comparable grade 8 standardized test scores were similarly likely to pass each of the three exams, suggesting that the exams are similar in their level of difficulty. The typical test taker in New Jersey was in the second quintile of the statewide grade 8 test score distribution (between the 20th and 40th percentiles), and 63 to 69 percent of these test takers passed the high school equivalency exam on their first attempt (figure 1) . Figure 1. Test takers with comparable grade 8 standardized test scores were similarly likely to pass each of the three high school equivalency exams Percentage of test takers who passed on first attempt 100% 88 89 88 75% ~~ 67 69 63 ~~ 50% ~~ ~~ 29 28 25 25% ~~ ~~ 0% ~~ ~~ Bottom Second Top three quintile quintile quintiles Quintile on grade 8 standardized test GED HiSETTASC Percentage of test takers who ever passed 100% ~~ ~~85~~ 88 92 95 ~~96~~ ~~ 75 75% ~~ ~~ 50% 43 53 58 25% ~~ ~~ 0% Bottom Second Top three quintile quintile quintiles Quintile on grade 8 standardized test HiSET is High School Equivalency Test. TASC is Test Assessing Secondary Completion. Note: The grade 8 standardized test is the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge. This figure includes high school equivalency (HSE) test takers enrolled in grade 8 in a New Jersey public school from 2008/09 to 2013/14, and who took an HSE exam from March 2014 to December 2018. Forty-one percent of HSE takers are in the bottom quintile, 30 percent are in the second quintile, and 30 percent are in the top three quintiles. HSE takers are considered to have passed each HSE exam if their score exceeded developers’ passing scores. Source: Grade 8 New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge scores come from the New Jersey Department of Education’s longitudinal K–12 information system (NJ SMART), and test performance comes from HSE testing vendors (collected by the New Jersey Department of Education) . For all three exams, test takers were least likely to pass the math subject test on the first attempt (figure 2) . For the HiSET and GED, few reached the threshold set by developers indicating college and career readiness. Figure 2. Passing rates were lowest for the math subject test on all three high school equivalency exams Percentage who passed on first attempt 100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% | 86
77 77 | | 77 | 78 81 | 77 | 81 81 | 85 | | --- | ---

FAQs

What are high school equivalency exams and who can take them?

They are tests students who did not finish high school can take to demonstrate skills and knowledge and earn a high school equivalency credential. These credentials can support access to postsecondary education and employment opportunities.

How does the study compare GED, HiSET, and TASC in New Jersey?

The study finds that test takers with comparable grade 8 standardized test scores were similarly likely to pass each of the three exams, suggesting similar difficulty levels.

Which subject test had the lowest passing rates on the first attempt?

For all three exams, passing rates were lowest for the math subject test on the first attempt.

Sep 14, 2026

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