Family & Community Adult Education
General Educational Development (GED)

Accommodations for Disabilities

The GED Testing Service and the Massachusetts GED Office believes that:

"Not all individuals can be fairly tested under standard administrations of regular print editions of the GED Tests. In such cases, accommodated administrations may be arranged at the request of the candidate and with the approval of the Chief Examiner and the GED Administrator…"

Every candidate for the GED Tests should have a fair opportunity to demonstrate his or her knowledge and skills under appropriate test conditions. For some candidates, a disability may interfere with their ability to fully demonstrate what they know under standard testing conditions.

Learning disabilities, for example, can affect your ability to store, process, and/or produce information. They can also affect your ability to read, write, speak, do math, and socialize. Many physical disabilities can affect a person's ability to sit for long periods of time, to write using a pencil and paper, or to read normal sized print.

Accommodations in testing are available for adults with documented physical disabilities as well as learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and emotional or psychological disabilities. Each request is considered on an individual basis.

The Massachusetts State GED Administrator or a GED Chief Examiner is required to provide GED candidates with guidance and help in and understanding the process of documenting their need for accommodations. The range of accommodations available to GED candidates is determined by the needs of test-takers with documented disabilities. Before forwarding the Request for Testing Accommodations form to the GED Administrator, a GED Examiner must verify that a professional diagnostician has performed all documentation and diagnoses. The most common accommodations for candidates with a disability are listed below. If a GED Chief Examiner or the candiddate believes an accommodation is needed that is not listed but is not explicitly prohibited, please contact the State GED Administrator, Ruth Derfler 781-338-6604.

• Audiocassette edition (with large-print reference copy)
• Large print edition
• Use of a scribe
• Extended time
• Use of a calculator
• Supervised frequent breaks
• Use of a private room for testing

Verifying and Documenting Disabilities

Verification of documented disabilities must occur before a GED candidate can request accommodations during testing. While both medical and emotional disabilities may be verified through consultation with the candidate's medical doctor, specific learning disabilities and attention deficit/ADHD must be diagnosed and verified by a certified professional.
When correctly completed, these forms provide the required information necessary to determine whether a person who is identified as having a disability is eligible for accommodations when taking the GED Tests. Request for Testing Accommodations forms will not be accepted for the review process until signed by the Chief Examiner of the Testing Center.

The information provided to GED Test Center, State GED Administrator and if necessary to GEDTS about any specific disability will be treated as confidential and will be used solely to determine eligibility for accommodations. Details about testing accommodations will be shared only with the testing staff and will not be released to anyone else.

If you have further questions on documenting disabilities or requesting accommodations for GED candidates, please contact the Massachusetts State GED Administrator, Ruth E. Derfler at 781-338-6604 or the Massachusetts State GED Chief Examiner, Tom Mechem at 781-338-6621.

You may download the appropriate form by clicking on the links below. However, you will still need to contact a Massachusetts GED Test Center to submit the form and get current and accurate information on the process in Massachusetts:

Related Files

Candidate checklist
Attention/Deficit Hyperactivty Disorder
Emotional/Mental Health
Learning and Other Cognitive Disabilities
Physical\Chronic Health