What Is on the HiSET Test? The Five Subtests, Timing, and Scoring

What is on the HiSET test, subtest by subtest?

The HiSET is not one long exam. It is a battery of five subtests, and each one is scored on its own. PSI, which runs the program, describes what each subtest measures in its HiSET Test at a Glance information brief (copyright 2025). The times and question counts below come from that brief, and hiset.org lists the same times.

Two details in the brief change how you should read this table. First, the percentages are averages across test forms, so your form can lean a little one way or the other. Second, every subtest may include some questions that do not count toward your score, and the brief does not say which ones. Treat every question as if it counts.

Added up, the five clocks come to 425 minutes. You do not have to sit them back to back: HiSET reports each subtest separately and updates your Comprehensive Score Report each time you take a new one, so you can spread the five across different appointments. Your state's page lists its own scheduling and fee rules. Practice works best organized the same way, and full HiSET prep planned for launch divides its 1,150 questions by subtest, from 202 for Reading to 242 each for Writing, Science, and Social Studies.

What does each HiSET subtest actually ask you to do?

The content categories tell you the topics. The brief's descriptions tell you the kind of thinking, and that matters more for preparation, because most HiSET questions give you the material and ask you to work with it.

Language Arts – Reading

You read passages and answer questions about them. PSI says the texts usually run about 400 to 600 words and span forms such as narratives, memoirs, essays, editorials, and poetry. The questions move from explicit details and word meaning to inference, the author's purpose, and comparing two texts. With 60% informational texts, about 30 of the 50 questions on a typical form are tied to nonfiction.

Language Arts – Writing

The multiple-choice part shows drafts, such as letters, reports, and articles, with parts underlined or highlighted, and asks which revision corrects or improves them. Language Facility is the largest category at 43%: sentence structure, modifier placement, parallel structure, and precise word choice. For the essay, you read a pair of texts and write a response that takes a position and supports it with evidence from the texts and your own experience.

Mathematics

Algebraic Concepts is the center of this subtest at 45%, about 25 of 55 questions on an average form. That category covers linear equations and inequalities, systems of equations, quadratics, functions, and rate of change. The rest is split almost evenly between number work (percent, ratios, scientific notation), geometry and measurement, and data, probability, and statistics. The questions are set in realistic situations, so expect word problems more than bare equations.

Science

PSI says most Science questions come with stimulus material that describes an investigation and its results, with graphs, tables, and charts. You will be asked to pick out a research question, choose a sound procedure, separate a hypothesis from an observation, and judge which conclusion the data support. Life Science is about half of the subtest at 49%.

Social Studies

Questions use primary documents, political cartoons, timelines, maps, graphs, and short passages. History and Civics/Government are 35% each, about 21 questions apiece on a 60-question form. Some process skills overlap with Science, and some are its own: tell fact from opinion, judge whether a source is reliable, and decide whether the information is enough to support a conclusion.

How is the HiSET scored, and what counts as passing?

hiset.org states three requirements, and you need all of them:

1. At least 8 out of 20 on each of the five subtests.
2. At least 2 out of 6 on the essay in Language Arts – Writing.
3. A combined score of at least 45 out of 100 across all five subtests.

The third rule is the one people miss. Five scores of 8 add up to only 40, five points short of 45. So passing every subtest at the minimum still does not pass the battery: somewhere you need extra points. A worked example: scores of 10, 9, 8, 9, and 9 add up to 45, which meets the total, provided the essay scored at least 2. The same candidate with an 8 in place of the 10 would total 43 and still need points even though every subtest shows a pass.

PSI also reports a college and career readiness level: at least 15 out of 20 on a subtest and at least 4 on the essay. hiset.org says that level means you scored the same as or higher than 75 percent of graduating high school students. It is not needed to pass.

A few scoring details help when you plan:

• When scores arrive. On average, official scores post within three business days for the multiple-choice subtests and five business days for Language Arts – Writing. Paper tests can take longer.
• Retakes count your best score. Your Comprehensive Score Report shows your highest scaled score for each subtest and updates when a retake improves it. Retake waits and limits come from your state.
• What the subtest report shows. The sample Individual Test Report lists the percentage of questions you answered correctly in each content category. That breakdown tells you which category to study if you retake.
• The credential is your state's. hiset.org says the state you test in sets the minimum requirements for the credential and may add others, such as a civics exam.

Can you use a calculator and a formula sheet on the HiSET math subtest?

PSI calls the Mathematics subtest "calculator neutral." You do not need a calculator, but if you ask for one, the test center has to give you a four-function or a scientific calculator. You cannot bring your own, and some states set a specific model, so read your state's policy.

A formula sheet is provided, with one catch. The brief lists three formulas that are not on it, and you are expected to know them:

• distance = rate × time (d = rt)
• the Pythagorean Theorem (a² + b² = c², where c is the longest side)
• the quadratic formula, for equations of the form ax² + bx + c = 0

Those three are worth memorizing early, because each one opens a whole family of questions: travel and work problems, right-triangle distances, and quadratics that do not factor neatly. Short daily recall works well for them, and see how the 500 flashcards planned for full HiSET prep are sorted by subtest if you want that layer organized for you.

Who runs the HiSET, and is it offered in every state?

PSI Services runs the HiSET today. The program came from ETS: PSI announced on November 2, 2021 that it had acquired the HiSET program from ETS, and ETS then acquired PSI itself in a deal that closed January 25, 2024. That is why you may still see ETS on older HiSET materials, while hiset.org and the current score reports carry PSI's name.

The HiSET is not national: each state or jurisdiction decides whether to offer it and sets its own age, residency, fee, and retest rules. hiset.org says you generally need to be at least 18, though some states allow candidates as young as 16 with extra steps. Some states also require an official practice test or an adult education class before you book. Your state's page can also limit the testing options, which hiset.org lists as in person or online, paper or computer, and English or Spanish.

HiSET's state requirements page lists 26 states and five other jurisdictions, but a listing is not proof that testing is open: the New Jersey and West Virginia pages say those states stopped offering the HiSET in 2023 and 2024. Our guide to HiSET vs GED and which test your state offers walks through the full list next to GED's.

How to start studying for the HiSET subtests

Start by finding which subtests need the most work. The 20 free HiSET practice questions include four from each subtest, explain every option, and end with a breakdown by subtest. They are original practice, not PSI items, so read the result as a pointer to your weakest subtest, not as a score out of 20.

Then build the plan around the subtests you still need. The free HiSET study plan lets you check only the subtests you are still preparing and choose the one that needs the most time, then lays out days up to your next sitting.

Two habits pay off across all five subtests. Read the question before the passage or the data, so you know what you are looking for. And after every miss, name the step that failed: a transition you misread, a percent applied to the wrong amount, or a conclusion the table did not support. When you move from finding weak spots to steady practice, every question in full HiSET prep at launch comes with an explanation for each answer.

HiSET test FAQ

How long is the HiSET test in total?

The five subtests add up to 425 minutes, or 7 hours and 5 minutes, with Reading in English. Reading in Spanish allows 80 minutes instead of 65. Because each subtest is scored and reported separately, you can take them at different appointments.

Is the HiSET all multiple choice?

Almost. hiset.org says most questions are multiple choice with a single response, and you write one essay in Language Arts – Writing. The essay is scored out of 6, and you need at least 2.

Can you take the HiSET in Spanish or online?

It depends on your state. hiset.org lists English or Spanish, paper or computer, and test-center or online-proctored testing as options that vary by state, so check your state's page before you book. When you are ready to plan the months ahead, compare the planned 30-, 90- and 180-day HiSET access options.