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

By Leonard Williams

Getting ready for the GED? Taking an adult education course? Whether you’re attending local classes, taking online classes or managing a self-study program at home, you’ll want to ensure that your study time is effective.

Make a Note! Here�s one surefire study tip that has proven successful for adults working toward the General Education Development credential, the �diploma� awarded for passing the GED Test.

Take Notes

For many GED students and adult learners, taking notes seems boring or tedious, or they can�t see the relevance of taking notes. Perhaps they have an abundance of GED study materials and don�t feel a need to add more to the pile. And for some GED students, taking notes is new � they�re reluctant to take notes because they�ve never done it, or never learned the skill.

Taking notes is easy � it just starts as a practice and soon becomes a skill. Taking notes is highly effective and ensures learning when it�s a three-part process. And, taking notes is a critical way to shift new information that�s learned from the brain�s short-term memory bank to the brain�s knowledge vault.

1. Initially, many people feel like they�re copying or jotting material just for the sake of it. It�s difficult for them to see how taking notes helps them learn. It may seem like a mindless activity. Still, it�s important � just write down information as you move through material on your own, or during GED classes. The act of taking notes engages you with the study material beyond just hearing information, reading or seeing it.

Just as note-taking improves with practice, so does learning. As notes are taken more frequently and regularly, students begin to recognize key information and main points more easily and more often. Note-taking becomes more logical since the act of taking notes engages the logical processing of the brain. When the logical brain becomes engaged, the learning process is activated and information is better retained.

2. The second part of taking notes is organizing them; do it soon after taking them. How do you organize notes? Put them in logical order � or an order that makes the most sense to you. Highlight, circle or underline important information. As notes are reviewed and organized, the information from the notes is refreshed in the mind and organized mentally. Again, the logical brain is engaged.

3. You reinforce this part of the learning process by processing your notes again. Fill in any missing information. Make a list of the key words from your notes. List any problems you�re having with the material, or identify sections in your notes where the material seems unclear. Make an outline of the information so that you see the relationship of ideas and facts to each other. Make another list or outline that includes all the information you feel you�ve really learned. Determine how you can use this new knowledge in real-life situations. Now, review sections or the list that identified unclear information and you�ll probably discover that it�s clearer.

Taking notes is neither an art nor a science. But the learning process is both. Learning isn�t really about remembering, and knowledge isn�t about memorization. Real learning and real knowledge are about activating, using and engaging higher brain processes, which is exactly what happens during the three-step process of taking notes.

At GED test time, taking notes will prove to be an excellent skill to have learned. Processing information logically, and identifying key words and main ideas are major parts of the GED test. So taking notes is an important skill and practice for study time and test time.

More Resources

? Sweetbriar College provides detailed information on taking notes. http://www.arc.sbc.edu/notes.html

? Fact Monster provides a basic but thorough guide to note-taking: http://www.factmonster.com/homework/studyskills2.html