Top 5 GED Study Secrets
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by Leonard Williams
39 million American adults never earned a high school diploma–a fact that holds them back from higher-paying jobs and higher education. Earning a GED is a solution, but how can undereducated adults break through the “study barrier”?
The 39 million adult Americans who have no high school degree earn lower wages and aren’t eligible for many career and educational opportunities. That’s why more than 800,000 people take the GED each year. Unfortunately, many of them don’t pass on their first try. Educator Michael Ormsby of The GED Academy says, “Adults who need a GED probably never acquired good study skills. Learning on your own can be very challenging if you never graduated high school.” Ormsby identifies five simple study secrets that can help anyone learn:
1. Know what you don’t know.
“If you don’t know what areas you need to study,” Ormsby says, “you waste a lot of time and energy.” He recommends taking a GED practice test as a first step in studying for the GED. Understanding your score helps you plan what you need to study.
2. Apply what you study.
Reading a textbook is not an efficient way to learn, according to Ormsby. By applying what you’re studying to real-life situations and problems, you will retain the knowledge and be able to use it on a test. “If we don’t use knowledge, it doesn’t mean anything to us. Imagine learning to drive a car from a book–it wouldn’t work. You need to get behind the wheel,” says Ormsby.
3. Focus on thinking skills.
While the GED tests basic reading, writing, and math skills, the focus is not on memorizing facts or equations. The GED is designed to test your ability to solve problems, evaluate situations, and analyze information. “Hone your thinking skills. Thinking critically and clearly will help with every area of the GED,” says Ormsby.
4. Manage your time.
Ormsby recommends setting aside a small amount of time every day to study. “Don’t try to study all at once,” he says. “You need time to absorb information.” A half an hour of study time every night will give you better, faster results than a cramming session before the exam.
5. Assess your progress.
As you’re studying, continue to test yourself to track your progress and see how you’re doing. This will give you a good idea of what you still need to study. Plus, it will tell you when you’re ready to take the test and pass.
For more information about studying for the GED, visit: www.passged.com
Carl Fenimore Said,
November 25, 2007 @ 11:46 pm
I just completed my test last month and faild for the second time.
My over all scores were 2110 & 2180, math was and continues to be an opportunitie for me. I just can’t seem to grasp the math at all. My scores for math are as follows… 360 & 390.
Any advise would be welcomed.
Thanks,
Carl Fenimore
Leonard’s Newsletters » Blog Archive » Newsletter: GED Study Tips Said,
December 4, 2007 @ 11:39 am
[…] Hi! Leonard Williams here. In our survey, the thing people were most interested in was tips on how to study well. I’ve just published a good article about that that you can read, called Top 5 Study Secrets. […]
Michael Said,
December 4, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Carl,
The math section is the hardest one for most learners. 390 is pretty close to passing, considering your total scores.
How have you been studying for the math portion of the exam? Have you been using a book? Taking a class? Using online resources?
There are a lot of areas of math on the GED, so the important thing for you is to identify what you’re having trouble with so you can know what to study. Unfortunately, the GED doesn’t tell you what you got right or wrong! So, take a practice test or think back to the GED test, if you can remember it well enough. Try to pick out what you had trouble with from this list of types of things on the math test:
How to change word problems into the right math problem?
Spending a lot of time doing math problems instead of estimating?
Using the Casio calculator?
Using fractions, decimals, or percentages?
Solving interest rate problems?
Knowing types of measurements (metric measures like centimeter and kilometer or converting things like miles to other measures)?
Adding or subtracting measurements?
Mean, median or mode (averaging, or looking at groups of data)?
Simple, independent, or dependent probability, like the likelihood of picking a card out of a deck?
Reading and understanding tables, charts, and graphs?
Finding “x” in an equation, simplifying an equation with x’s, or factoring an equation (algebra)?
Exponents and roots (i.e. x squared) or scientific notation?
Graphing equations, lines, or points on a graph?
Finding perimeter, area, or volume in geometric figures?
Lines and angles? (Parallel lines with lines crossing them, types of angles, relationships of angles, angles in the corners of figures, right triangles)?
Types of geometric shapes or comparing geometric shapes?
Whew! Seems like a long list, right? Well, try to narrow it down to three or four things that are giving you difficulty, and then research, learn, and practice those things. I’m thinking that focusing your studying this way will help bring up your score to what you need.