A number of the County's residents complete their education as adults by seeking high school equivalency via the General Educational Development (GED) test. The GED is actually a battery of five tests which, when passed, certifies that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills. To pass the GED, test takers must score higher than 40 percent of graduating high school seniors nationwide. Originally created to help veterans after World War II return to civilian life, now one in every seven Americans with high school credentials received the GED, as has one in 20 college students. In 2007, Spartanburg County adult education programs awarded 354 GED certificates. Annual numbers of certificates awarded since 2003 are as follows:

It does not appear that there is an increasing trend toward obtaining GED credentials among the non-high school graduates; however, numbers are holding at a steady rate while graduation rates are increasing. Overall, therefore, a higher percentage of Spartanburg County residents are obtaining diplomas or their equivalency.