PURPOSE: The State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education determines applicant eligibility, arranges for testing, establishes minimum standard score requirements, issues certificates, approves reexamination and cooperates with the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES) and United States Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) testing programs.

1. (1) To be eligible to take the General Educational Development (GED) tests and earn a Missouri High School Equivalency Certificate, a person cannot be enrolled in elementary or secondary school, must be a resident of Missouri (with a Missouri mailing address), and meet one (1) of the following requirements:

   1. (A) Be eighteen (18) years of age or older;
   2. (B) Be seventeen (17) years of age and out of school at least six (6) months from the last day of school attendance; or

   3. (C) Be sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age, withdrawn from school and—

      1. 1. Have the written permission of the

superintendent or principal of school last attended; or

1. 2. Be incarcerated or have the written

permission of the juvenile judge if under the court’s jurisdiction. 5 CSR 60-100

1. (2) Arrangements for Taking the GED Tests.

   1. (A) Servicemen who are residents of Missouri or who are stationed in Missouri in active military service will be allowed to take the GED tests upon the payment of the regular fee established by the Missouri State Board of Education.
   2. (B) The GED tests are administered under the direction of the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education at centers approved and designated by the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
   3. (C) Application forms may be secured by writing to Director, Adult Education, State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, P.O. Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102. The completed form is to be returned for approval. Only approved applicants may take the examination. Positive identification in the form or a current Missouri driver’s license, Missouri non-driver ID, or United States Passport must be presented by the examinee before being allowed to take the GED test. The local testing center is responsible for positive identification of examinees.
   4. (D) A fee must accompany each application. The remittance by cash, postal money order or cashier’s check must be made payable to the Treasurer, State of Missouri. The fee is not refundable and nontransferable. Personal checks are not accepted. The fee for processing applications and issuance of a certificate when achieved will be eighteen dollars ($18). An additional application and fee of eighteen dollars ($18) will be required each time an individual retakes any part of the test. Processing of an application and issuance of a certificate to an individual who took the test through the United States Armed Forces Institute/Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support will be eighteen dollars ($18). In addition to the fee paid to the Treasurer, State of Missouri, an examinee will pay the local testing center a fee set by the local testing center not to exceed nine dollars ($9) each time the tests are taken. A fee of two dollars ($2), payable to the Treasurer, State of Missouri, also will be charged for each transcript issued other than the original. Replacement certificates may be purchased for a fee of fifteen dollars ($15), payable to Treasurer, State of Missouri.
2. (3) Local testing centers will assign testing dates to applicants who have been authorized by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to take the test or to retake all or part of the test. The following areas are covered by the tests: Correctness and Effectiveness of Expression, Interpretation of Reading Materials in the Social Studies, Interpretation of Reading Materials in the Natural Sciences, Interpretation of Literary Materials and General Mathematical Ability.
3. (4) Effective May 1, 1992, a total minimum standard score of two hundred twenty-five
4. (225) or above on the five (5) tests of GED, with no score below forty (40), is required to qualify for a Missouri Certificate of High School Equivalence. Certificates issued prior to May 1, 1992, required a total standard score of two hundred twenty-five (225) or above on the five (5) tests, with no score below thirty-five (35). Certificates issued prior to September 9, 1968, required a total standard score of two hundred forty (240) or above on the five (5) tests, with not more than one (1) score below forty-three (43).
5. (5) Certificates of High School Equivalence are issued only by the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Public high schools are not permitted to issue these certificates nor are they permitted to issue a diploma on the basis of the GED tests as these tests do not satisfy legal requirements for a high school diploma in Missouri.

6. (6) Reexamination.

   1. (A) An applicant who fails to qualify for the certificate on the first testing may be approved for additional attempts, but only if a minimum of two (2) months have elapsed since the previous attempt. Application and fee are required each time tests are taken.
   2. (B) If the scores on the reexamination do not meet the minimum certificate requirements, the highest scores above forty (40) received on all tests taken within the last two

7. (2) years will be compared with the most recent scores. The highest score obtained for each of the five (5) tests will be used as a basis for determining the eligibility for the certificate.

   1. (C) An applicant who has been reauthorized more than twice and fails to take the tests or who fails to take the test within two
8. (2) years after approval must submit a new application and fee.
9. (7) GED Tests Given by the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES) or United States Armed Forces Institute (USAFI) are recognized by Missouri. A completed application form, fee and an official transcript to GED scores must be submitted to Director, Adult Education, State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, P.O. Box 480, Jefferson City, MO 65102. A Missouri Certificate of High School Equivalency will be issued if the standard scores meet the minimum score requirements established by the State Board of Education.

AUTHORITY: section 161.092, RSMo 1994.* Original rule filed Oct. 10, 1969, effective Oct. 20, 1969. Amended: Filed Oct. 14, 1976, effective Feb. 1, 1977. Amended: Filed Feb. 13, 1978, effective May 15, 1978. Amended: Filed June 28, 1985, effective Oct. 14, 1985. Amended: Filed Sept. 25, 1987, effective Jan. 29, 1988. Amended: Filed Jan. 28, 1992, effective Sept. 6, 1992. Amended: Filed Oct. 31, 1996, effective June 30, 1997. Amended: Filed March 24, 1998, effective Oct. 30, 1998. *Original authority: 161.092, RSMo 1963, amended 1973. Op. Atty. Gen No. 415, King Jr. (12-29-64). As regards the University of Missouri and its branches, Lincoln University and the five state colleges, that: 1. Under the constitution and statutes of Missouri a graduate of an accredited high school does not have an absolute right to be admitted; 2. The governing boards of these institutions have the authority to set by rules admissions requirements which are reasonable and not arbitrary; and 3. The provisions of neither Article IX, section 1(a), Missouri Constitution of 1945, nor section 160.090(2), RSMo (1959), prevent the governing boards of these institutions from adopting reasonable and nonarbitrary admission requirements.