HS21+ and GED® FAQs

If you are 21 years of age or older and lack a high school diploma, you can earn high school credit and earn a HS21+ diploma by attending ABE classes.

You may attend HS21+ and earn your diploma if you have a GED^® certificate. You do not have to have any previous high school credit. If you are not yet 21 years old, you may still take our classes and receive all earned credit and be eligible to receive a diploma once you turn 21 years old.

High School 21+ is available mornings and evenings at the Wenatchee campus, afternoons and evenings at the Omak campus, and is also available on a flexible schedule through SkillSource Wenatchee.

Washington state has set the credit requirements for high school completion. You must earn credits in English, math, history, science, health, fitness, occupational education, art, and electives to receive a diploma. In our classes, you will complete projects and assignments designed to prove competency in these required subjects. You can work on multiple subjects in single assignments; for example, you may be working on an assignment in your English class that will address learning goals in math, science, and history. Once you have completed a certain number of learning goals in a subject, we will award you high school credit in that area. There will be multiple ways to complete assignments and prove your abilities in each subject, and you may be working in pairs or groups with other students who need the same credits as you.

If you have previous high school credit, you must provide original, sealed copies of all transcripts to WVC for evaluation. You may provide them upon entry or at any time prior to diploma requirement completion, but the earlier you provide them, the more accurately we can assign you work to complete your credit requirements.

We also will accept certain certificates as proof of completing competency work that may be applied to your high school credit. If you have a certificate or proof of training that you think addresses a high school subject, you may present it for credit evaluation.

Students with non-U.S. high school credit need to have that credit translated and possibly externally evaluated before applying it for HS21+. WVC has a list of recommended translation and evaluation agencies to which you can submit your transcripts. In some cases, students with non-US high school credit may find the GED^® tests, or proceeding through HS21+ without applying previous credit to be better options. But if you have a high school diploma in your country, we can help you to work with an external agency to get your diploma evaluated for US equivalency, so that you can proceed directly to college. You probably do not need to earn a diploma or GED® certificate if you have a foreign high school diploma.

No, and in some cases, it may make more sense to take the GED^® tests and earn a High School Equivalency (HSE). Since the subject matter for the GED® tests in many cases overlaps what is required for HS21+ completion, HSE and HS21+ students will often be in the same class. One of the big advantages of HS21+ is that you will have a very good idea from the start how long you will take to earn your HS21+ diploma – something we are not really able to predict with the GED^® tests. In all cases, once we sit down with you and see what your prior schooling and experience is, we will be able to help you choose which option is better for you – HS21+ or the GED^® tests.

You will pay the current adult basic education tuition and fee rate of $35 per quarter. This rate includes all ABE courses for the quarter, and all tests and materials associated with the classes.

The certificate you receive after passing the GED^® tests is a 
high school equivalency - that is, a certification that you possess the same general academic knowledge as if you had 
completed 12 years of school. However, your GED^® certificate may not be as widely accepted by employers as a high 
school diploma. You also may not have all the skills and knowledge that you will need to be successful in college-
level classes or in the workplace. While you are earning credit in HS21+, we will also be helping you to develop these critical skills for success in the college classroom and at your job. The GED^® tests cannot offer you this type of preparation.

You must be at least 16 years old. If you are under 19 years old, you must submit an official release form signed by an official at the last high school you attended or from your local school district office. You must submit the signed form to the Testing Center before you can sign up for the test. The form is available here.

You must sign up for all tests online – we cannot schedule tests for you. Go to www.myged.com and create a user account. You will sign up for each of the four tests separately. It is not possible to take all four tests in a single day, and in any case it is highly recommended not to take more than one test per testing session.

Each test costs $30 - a total cost of $120 for all four tests.

There are several ways to prepare for the GED® tests:

• You may take the MyGED online program
• You may attend Adult Basic Education courses at WVC
• You may use a study guide (there are many available online or in book form, including at the WVC and public libraries).  If you choose to self-study in this manner, please make sure that you are using materials for the 2014 version of the GED® tests. Older versions meant for the 2002 GED® tests are not recommended.

The GED® Testing Service offers the GED Ready™ diagnostic tests on the myged.com website. Each test costs $6. If you are enrolled in an ABE course, you may take one test per subject, per year, free of charge. We will provide a voucher code to pay for the tests.

Yes, the GED® tests are available in Spanish at WVC. The resulting certificate is still an equivalency certificate and is exactly as valid as the certificate earned by taking the test in English. However, taking the test in Spanish may not meet all of your college or career readiness needs; you may not be able to operate at levels of English language use appropriate for college classes or your workplace.

It is impossible for our department to predict a timetable for GED® test completion. Your starting educational level and experience, your ability to study and prepare, and your motivation will all be key roles in completing the four tests and receiving your equivalency certificate. This is different for every person. We do not promote timeline-style academic plans for GED preparation and testing.

 One thing that we can tell you for sure, though, is that there is no connection between spending time in our classes and passing the GED® tests. Our classes are not connected in any way to the GED® testing process, and the GED® equivalency certificate is meant to be the equivalent of twelve years of schoolwork – making it unlikely to be achieved at the end of ten or twenty weeks of class. We do not give out equivalency certificates at the end of any course of instruction, nor do we make any guarantees of success on the GED based solely on class attendance

In 2014, the GED® tests were updated and revised extensively. The older tests (2002) were discontinued as of January 1, 2014. This means that any test results from before that date are no longer valid. (However, all equivalency certificates issued before that date are still valid.) This does not mean, however, that you have to start completely over; you probably still possess much of the basic knowledge in the GED® test subjects that is still applicable to the new tests. You may also be a good candidate to switch to the High School 21+ program.

 Each has its merits. If you are a good test taker and already have much of the skills and knowledge required to pass the GED® tests, the GED® tests may be a quicker option, especially if you have little or no high school credit. If you are less comfortable with tests and have some high school credit, the High School 21+ program may be more suitable for you.

The military service will usually not accept GED certificates, only high school diplomas. Certain employers may insist on a high school diploma.

Remember, you have the option to change from GED prep to HS21+ at any time while you are a student with our program. 

Not necessarily. If you are intending to go to college, you may be able to finish an associate’s degree and automatically receive a high school diploma on top of your GED®. We only recommend HS21+ for GED® completers if you specifically need a high school diploma - for example, military enlistment or employment requirements.

 If you tested before January 2014, please visit www.gedverify.org to request a copy of your transcripts, if you have tested after January 2014 please visit www.myGED.com.