The pass rate for students who took the new, computer-based version of the GED last year was 88 percent, outpacing the 71 percent pass rate of those who who took the paper-based version, the GED Testing Service said. They also spent 1.5 hours less taking the test, which is a high-school degree equivalency exam. The service plans to launch a fully computer-based, redesigned version of the exam next year.