Axtell Educational Center, one of many centers offering GED preparation assistance, asks for a commitment of 15 hours of study each week. Assuming a 5-day study week, that's 3 hours a day. In an article on project-based learning, GED instructor Anson M. Green notes that the goal in his adult education classes is that students study for the GED for 5 hours a day. Green adds, though, that students rarely meet this goal.

On the Other: Learning in Your Own Time Frame Is Important

Learning is a very individual thing. Everyone learns at his or her own pace and comes to the table with his or her own time constraints. In a 2009 article for Daily Press, Victorville, California, online adult education instructor Dede Smith touts the benefits of working at one's own pace. A student from her program notes that she studies whenever she can slip in an hour or two, such as after she's put her children to bed.

Bottom Line

How many hours a day one should study for the GED depends primarily on the individual. Knowing yourself is the first step. How many hours a day can you devote to studying? After how many hours are you still able to be focused and interested in learning? Start with a good base---educators suggest GED learners schedule study time from 3 to 5 hours a day 5 days a week---and see if a bit more or less works best for you.

Source:

Axtell Educational Center

Focus on Basics: Connecting Research & Practice, "Project-Based Learning and the GED", Anson M. Green, June 1998.

Daily Press, Victorille, California, "HUSD Offers Online GED Program," Beau Yarbrough, December 2009.