Adult Basic Education and GEDLearning Support :

Adult Basic Education and GED

Adult Basic Education (ABE) is available statewide at no cost to adult learners and is administered through the Minnesota Department of Education.  To be eligible for ABE services, a person must be 16 years old or older, not enrolled in K-12 public or private school and lack basic academic skills in one or more of the following areas: reading, writing, speaking and mathematics.  Programs included under the ABE curriculum umbrella include Adult Diploma, GED, English as a Second Language (ESL or ELL), Family Literacy, Basic Skills Enhancement (brush-up), Workplace Literacy, and U.S. Citizenship/Civics.

Programs are delivered primarily through public school districts as well as through non-profit organizations, some technical colleges and state and local correctional institutions.  Each year, over 500 delivery sites serve approximately 75,000 adult students.  About one-half of these learners are enrolled in ESL programs.  Licensed teachers provide ABE instruction and are assisted by trained volunteers.  Most of the program’s 1,200 teachers are part-time and more than 3,000 volunteers assist ABE programs each year.

Find ABE classes, including GED preparation classes, as well as other ABE resources, at the Minnesota Literacy Council Website under Related Links.

General Educational Development (GED) Test

In Minnesota, the Tests of General Educational Development—commonly known as the GED® tests or simply GED, provide individuals who do not have a high school diploma the opportunity to earn a State of Minnesota GED Diploma. The five tests in the GED battery measure academic competencies similar to many of those required of a Minnesota high school graduate.  For specific information on the GED tests, eligibility requirements, how to prepare, etc, see GED Section Link.

Free GED Online Preparation through GED-i

An online instructional program called GED-i is available for Minnesotans who would like to prepare for the General Educational Development Diploma (GED) test. The GED-i program is a nationally recognized service and is free to adults that are not enrolled in high school. Students must qualify for this program.

Students enroll in the GED-i program in-person at a local Adult Basic Education program. Once registered, adult students work with a licensed teacher in an online environment and access instructional content at any time using the Internet.  Note:  The GED-i program is an online preparation program only; the GED test itself must be taken in person at a GED examination center.

Locate an ABE or GED-i provider on the Minnesota Literacy Council Website (see related links) or call the Minnesota Adult Literacy Hotline at 1-800-222-1990.