The specific purpose of the HiSET® exam is the measurement of the educational development of adults who have not completed their formal high school education. Adults may earn a High School Equivalency Certificate and thus qualify for admission to colleges or other educational institutions, meet educational requirements for employment or promotion, satisfy educational qualifications for induction into the armed services, fulfill requirements of local or state licensing boards, or gain personal satisfaction.

The HiSET® exam is available as a paper-based or computer-based exam to be taken in-person and as an online exam. The information below is for online testing. If you are interested in taking the HiSET® exam in-person, please refer to the information on this page as requirements may differ.

 

ELIGIBILITY

An individual is eligible to take the HiSET® Test given they meet all of the following conditions:

  • 18 years of age or older*
  • does not have a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential and is not currently enrolled in a secondary school
  • is a resident of the State of Illinois

*Note: Underage test takers are not eligible to take the HiSET® online in the State of Illinois. If you are age 17 and would like to take the HiSET® exam, please refer to this page of our website for information on in-person testing.

 

IDENTIFICATION AND RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

All test takers must present a current (non-expired), government-issued photo identification on test day to take a HiSET® test. In addition, pursuant to the Illinois School Code (105 ILCS 5/3-15.12), high school equivalency candidates must be a current Illinois resident in order to take a high school equivalency exam in the State of Illinois.

Test takers are required to provide a form of current (non-expired), government-issued photo identification on their test day to verify their identity. The government-issued photo identification must include the candidate’s full name, date of birth, signature, and photograph. Acceptable forms of identification include a driver’s license, state identification card, foreign identification card (such as a Matricula Consular), passport, or military identification.

Test takers will be required to certify their residency at the Illinois address they provide during registration is true and accurate during registration for online testing. If it is found that a candidate has falsified their address and does not meet residency requirements, the candidate’s exam scores will be revoked and the candidate may not be eligible to retest through the online-proctored model.

 

REGISTRATION

You can register online to take an online HiSET® exam at hiset.ets.org. Testing fees must be paid at the time of scheduling.

After the test taker logs into their HiSET account, they should find the My-HiSET home page and select “Register/Find Test Centers”. From there, select “Test Centers and Dates”, and choose the option for “HiSET Exam at Home”. The test taker will select a date and time for testing and follow the directions to continue registration and pay for their tests.

Once the test taker has registered for their test(s), they will receive an email from ETS confirming payment as well as an email from ProctorU® with registration instructions. The email from ProctorU® will provide a link and a temporary password to be used to create an account on the ProctorU® website to schedule a testing appointment. Completing this step is required to complete registration for the HiSET® Exam at Home. Therefore, test takers should use an email address they can access consistently and check regularly to receive important information from both ETS/HiSET and ProctorU®.

If test takers need to reschedule an existing appointment or cancelled appointment for an in-person test center to be taken online, they must contact HiSET® Customer Service at 1-855-MyHiSET (1-855-694-4738), Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

COST

The online HiSET® exam is $28.25 per test module. A total of 5 test modules comprise the HiSET® exam, meaning the full HiSET® battery, if taken entirely online, costs $141.25.

Candidates may mix and match the online HiSET® exam with the paper-based and computer-based formats.

Testing fees must be paid online at the time of registration. Testing sites are unable to take payment for exams directly from test takers on test day.

 

TECHNOLOGY AND ROOM REQUIREMENTS

To take the online-proctored HiSET® exam, you will need:

  • A laptop or desktop computer with a microphone and a camera. The camera (webcam) may be internal or external and connected to the computer.
  • A stable internet connection. All pop-up blocking settings must be disabled.
  • One of the following operating systems: Windows 10, Windows 8, or Mac OS 10.5 or higher. For MAC users, the MAC OS 10.13 High Sierra is recommended.
  • One of the following internet browsers: Chrome or Firefox.

Prior to their test, candidates will be required to download and install the ETS Secure Test Browser on the computer they will use for the test. For more information, see the HiSET website: https://www.ets.org/s/cv/hiset/at-home/equipment/

Candidates are able, and strongly encouraged, to complete a system check in advance of scheduling their exam and/or at any time in advance of their scheduled appointment. The system check will ensure your computer, webcam, and internet connection meet the requirements for testing online.

During the test, candidates must be in a private, walled room with a closed door. No one is permitted in the room with the candidate for any reason, and candidates may not leave their work areas for any reason. Candidates may not use an external calculator or scratch paper or talk during the online exam. Personal items, mobile phones, headphones, and watches must be kept out of reach.

 

CHECK-IN PROCESS

Candidates should check-in for their online-proctored exam 30 minutes ahead of the scheduled appointment time to leave enough time for the check-in process.

If candidates are late to their appointment, they will not be able to reschedule the online exam and will lose their payment.

Instructions for launching the exam are available in the candidate’s ProctorU® account after scheduling an exam. All test takers should review those instructions carefully prior to their exam.

 

RESCHEDULING OR CANCELING AN ONLINE EXAM

Candidates are eligible to reschedule their HiSET® Exam at Home at any time before their appointment date and time by logging into their ProctorU® account and selecting the “Reschedule” button.

To cancel a HiSET® Exam at Home and receive a full refund, test takers must contact ProctorU® Customer Service by live chat within their ProctorU® account, or by calling 1-855-772-8678. Test takers must cancel by 11:59 p.m. local time the day before their scheduled appointment to receive a test fee refund.

Candidates will be unable to cancel on test day and will be unable to reschedule after the test appointment has passed. If a test taker does not cancel or reschedule within the time frames above, they would lose their payment. Therefore, it is strongly encouraged to thoughtfully select an appointment time and to complete a system check in advance of the scheduled appointment.

 

TEST CONTENTS

The HiSET® exam consists of five content areas:

  • Language Arts – Reading – measures your ability to understand, interpret, and analyze a broad range of literary and informational texts
  • Language Arts – Writing – measures your skill in recognizing and producing standard American English, editing and revising written text, and generating and organizing ideas in writing
  • Mathematics – measures mathematical knowledge and competencies
  • Science – measures your ability to use science content knowledge, apply principles of scientific inquiry, and interpret and evaluate scientific information
  • Social Studies – measures your ability to analyze and evaluate information from a variety of social studies content areas

Tests are administered in English and Spanish.

You can test three times on each subject without waiting. After the third attempt, you must wait until the next calendar year.

 

HiSET®  TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS

Not all individuals can be fairly tested under standard conditions. If you have a documented learning, physical or emotional disability, you may qualify for accommodations for a HiSET® test administration. If approved, accommodations are provided at no additional charge.

For information on how to request accommodations for the HiSET® exam, visit http://hiset.ets.org/take/disabilities or email HiSETSSD@ets.org.

HiSET® TEST PREPARATION

HiSET® preparation classes are offered free of charge at local adult education programs. Test takers are strongly encouraged to prepare for their exams at a local adult education program.

For more information on HiSET® preparation classes near you, you may call or text 1-800-321-9511 or you can visit the Program Locator.

HiSET® study materials are also available at hiset.ets.org/prepare/overview.

 

CONSTITUTION REQUIREMENT

The Illinois Community College board has suspended the administration of the U.S. and Illinois State Constitution and Flag Test effective February 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021. Please click the link below to learn more about this suspension and what it means for you.

U.S. and Illinois State Constitution and Flag Test

 

CERTIFICATES AND TRANSCRIPTS

ORDERING HiSET® TRANSCRIPTS AND/OR HSE CERTIFICATES