Even an 85-Year-Old and an 11-Year-Old Made It: 403 Pass Jeju GED Exams

[Financial News, Jeju = Reporter Jung Yong-bok] In Jeju, 403 people ranging in age from 11 to 85 earned new academic credentials through the GED exam. The overall pass rate reached 87.41%, higher than the same round last year.
According to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education on the 28th, 461 people took the 2026 second elementary, middle, and high school equivalency exam held on the 11th, and 403 passed.
The overall pass rate was 87.41%. That was about 1.9 percentage points higher than last year's second exam pass rate of 85.5%.
By level, 45 people took the elementary school equivalency exam and 43 passed. The pass rate was 95.56%, the highest among the three levels.
For the middle school equivalency exam, 81 of 89 test-takers passed, for a pass rate of 91.01%. For the high school equivalency exam, 279 of 327 test-takers passed, resulting in a pass rate of 85.3%.
The age range was also broad. The oldest successful candidate was an 85-year-old woman who took the high school equivalency exam. The oldest successful candidates in the middle school and elementary school equivalency exams were a 67-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman, respectively.
The youngest successful candidates were an 11-year-old boy in the elementary school equivalency exam and an 11-year-old girl in the middle school equivalency exam. In the high school equivalency exam, the youngest successful candidate was a 14-year-old girl.
From older adults who had not completed formal schooling to young people outside the school system, test-takers with very different backgrounds earned academic recognition through the same exam.
Pass rates have also been trending upward recently. According to the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education, 874 people took the GED exams held twice in 2025, and 725 passed, for an annual pass rate of 83.0%. This year, 831 people took the first and second exams combined, and 726 passed, raising the annual pass rate to 87.4%.
In the first exam this year, 370 people took the test and 323 passed, for a pass rate of 87.3%. The second exam was similar, keeping both tests this year in the 87% range.
Pass results and individual scores can be checked on the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education website. Individual score inquiries will be available until 6 p.m. on Sept. 30. Pass certificates can be issued online through Government24.
Pass certificates will be distributed from today through Sept. 4 at the Education Administration Division of the Jeju Special Self-Governing Provincial Office of Education and the Administrative Support Division of the Seogwipo Office of Education Support.


[email protected] Jung Yong-bok Reporter