Over 700,000 people take the GED each year…not surprising, considering that 39 million American adults lack a high school diploma. But almost half of GED candidates fail the tests on their first try. Why? According to the GED Academy, the key is critical thinking.

Over 700,000 people take the GED high school equivalency exam each year, but only around 400,000 pass the test. Why do so many people fail on the first try? Many students believe that learning facts is more important than learning how to think about information, but according to The GED Academy, the thinking process is much more important than learning facts.

“The problem is that many people study the wrong things,” says Michael Ormsby, president of The GED Academy. “The good news is that you don’t need to do boring memorization. The GED is primarily a test of thinking skills.” The GED consists of five subject area tests in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. However, the emphasis of these tests is not generally on remembering facts or knowing specific pieces of information. Instead, the tests focus on test-takers’ thinking skills, such as the ability to solve problems, interpret information, and evaluate explanations.

“Critical thinking is the term that you hear all the time,” says Ormsby. “But what does it mean? How can you think critically? Really, it just means that you can think about something clearly. Clear thinking is something anyone can learn.”

The GED Academy’s GED prep program emphasizes teaching critical thinking skills. Students learn to approach problems in several ways and target thinking skills like application and evaluation. “The GED asks you to understand cause and effect, to come to conclusions about information, to understand different points of view, and to see the difference between facts and opinions,” Ormsby says. “That sounds like a lot, but it’s all a part of clear thinking.”

Critical thinking techniques are taught throughout the GED Academy’s passGED Study Program, in every discipline, through learners’ interaction with virtual students in a virtual classroom. “The best way to learn thinking skills is to get inside other students’ heads, to watch and listen, and think through things with other learners,” says Ormsby. “It’s a lot easier than people imagine. It’s even fun.”

For more information about the GED test and GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy at http://www.passGED.com, or call 1-888-880-2164.

The GED test is a high school equivalency exam. But what does that mean? How can a test be the equivalent of high school? And what is it, exactly, that we expect high school graduates to know?

Over 39 million disenfranchised American adults have no high school diploma, and so the doors to higher education and better job opportunities are closed to them. As a group, these Americans make about $350,000 less in their lifetimes than high school graduates or people with GEDs. Instead of moving the economy and their lives forward, Americans without high school degrees. The most widely accepted option for adults without a high school degree is a GED—a high school equivalency exam. What is this examination? What is the GED really testing? Can it truly be the equivalent of high school?

The skills that the GED is designed to measure are core skills that all high school students should learn, including communication, mathematics, problem solving, critical thinking, evaluation, and information processing. The GED test designers identify skills that are demanded by employers and by colleges or vocational schools, and the GED test is created to measure these real-life skills. According to the American Council of Education (ACE), a successful GED candidate must score better than 40 percent of traditional high school graduates.

The GED test is divided into five sections: reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. The GED tests competency in understanding important documents and communicating through writing—essential skills in any workplace or learning environment. It also tests fundamental math concepts, which are important in dealing with financial management and business issues which affect all adults.

However, perhaps the most important skills that the GED measures are thinking skills. Most GED questions are not focused on knowledge of facts. Instead, many questions on the GED measure the test-taker’s ability to carefully think through a problem and use reasoning to come to a correct answer. GED test-takers are asked to use critical thinking, problem solving, evaluation, and analysis skills, along with fundamental knowledge of the nature of science, language, math, and social sciences. Because thinking skills can be applied to any discipline or workplace, these are the most crucial skills for any adult to master.

This is good news for the GED test-taker. It means that studying for, and passing, the GED doesn’t need to involve memorizing four years’ worth of high school textbooks. Instead, GED test-takers can focus their learning on essential skills. It’s also good news for employers. The ACE states that many employers find that they “get a more educated, more committed workforce” by hiring GED graduates.

Michael Ormsby, president of The GED Academy, cites test preparation as the most important component in passing the GED. A wide variety of GED study programs are available, including test prep books, classes at adult learning centers, workplace programs, and local college programs. However, Ormbsby warns, “Be wary of any program that claims to award a GED or high school diploma through an online test. These ‘diplomas’ are usually worthless.”

About 95% of colleges and employers accept a GED credential, opening closed doors for the millions of adult Americans who never completed high school.

For more information about the GED test or GED test preparation, visit The GED Academy.

Education has become a critical issue in America. 39 million Americans lack the most basic educational achievement: a high school diploma. What skills do these Americans need in order to earn their GED and move ahead in today’s economy?

The GED Academy guides hundreds of test-takers through the GED program. “We see the same stories over and over,” President Michael Ormsby says, “The first questions everyone asks are: What can I expect? What will the GED test be like? What do I need to know for the GED?”

The GED is a sophisticated test that measures the most important skills that people should learn in high school. The test is divided into five sections: mathematics, social studies, science, reading, and writing. Most of the sections are in a multiple choice format, and the writing section includes a timed essay. The questions are formulated to test essential real-life skills: problem solving, critical thinking, evaluation, information processing, and making inferences. “The GED,” Ormsby states, “is a thinking test. I call it a thinking marathon because the GED takes eight hours of almost non-stop thinking.”

The analogy is not a bad one. A person who planned to run a marathon would need to train his or her body, and in much the same way, GED test-takers need to train their minds to think in specific ways. Training for a marathon takes time, and runners spend time building up their muscles and lungs every day. In much the same way, Ormsby recommends that GED test-takers should set aside some time each day to practice. The amount of time adult learners spend in test preparation depends on their current level of learning. “GED test preparation is for a specific purpose. You’re learning a well-defined set of skills,” says Ormsby. “Not facts and figures, but skills, like how to think through a problem to come to the right conclusion. It may take a few weeks or a couple of months, but with the right preparation, adult learners are amazingly successful [at the GED].”

Just like running a marathon requires specific strategies to go all the way, passing the GED also requires strategies for pacing yourself and test-taking skills as well as specific thinking skills. The emphasis of the GED is on measuring test-takers’ ability to reason, observe, and think clearly…skills that Ormsby insists adults can learn using the right tools.

The benefits of the GED are difficult to deny. GED graduates can qualify for better jobs and higher education. With a GED, an adult will on average earn $350,000 more throughout a lifelong career. Adults who go on to higher education earn even more. Ormsby credits this, in part, to the real-life skills that students learn to pass the GED. “It’s more than just a paper,” he says. “The GED represents essential knowledge and understanding.”

For more information about GED online study programs, visit: www.passged.com

Additional GED Test Information:

http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Professionals&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=58&ContentID=24092

http://www.dtae.org/adultlit/Perspectives9/testtips.html

http://adulted.about.com/cs/ged/a/GED2002.htm

http://www.testpedition.com/GED/

By Leonard Williams

If you’re planning to take the GED Test soon, you’ll want to know how the test works and what the test measures since test knowledge is a good way to outline a course of study and improve your score. You’ll also need a basic understanding of the GED test score and what score you’ll need to earn your GED, the common term for the General Education Development credential.

About the GED Test
The GED Test is actually a series of five tests, a 7.5-hour timed exam. The test series includes science, social studies, reading or language arts, writing and math. The individual tests in the series can be taken at different times. Once you pass an individual exam, you don’t have to take it again.

While most people have more questions or concerns about the math and writing tests, here’s a review of all the tests in the five-part GED test series.

For the science, social studies and reading tests, questions are designed to determine your ability to understand material, and then apply that understanding or knowledge by selecting the best answer among five multiple-choice options. You’ll need to read and understand short passages of information and then make inferences, evaluations and deductions to determine correct answers. The ability to understand information and apply reasoning skills are valuable for these tests. These abilities, along with common sense and judgment, are more important than memory, or the knowledge you remember from a basic skills class or high school.

The math test is also a multiple-choice test. The test is divided into two parts; there are 25 questions on each part, with 45 minutes allowed for each section. Both parts of the math test require more background knowledge and ability in basic math skills, and most test candidates will need to refresh these skills, or learn them. The test covers basic number operations, basic algebra and geometry, along with analysis of charts and data.

Part of the math test requires use of a calculator to perform number operations. The calculator used is the Casio fx-260, and the official testing site will provide it for the test. But since not all calculators are alike, you’ll want to become familiar with particular fx-260 calculator functions required for the test, and re-learn or sharpen your math skills so you’ll be ready.
The writing test also has two parts. The first is a multiple-choice test about the mechanics of English usage such as sentence structure, verb tense, punctuation and grammar. The second part requires an original written essay, and requires you to make an explanation or present a point of view. The two-page essay must address a given prompt.

Here’s an example of a prompt:

What is one career goal you hope to achieve in the next two years? In your essay, identify your primary career goal and explain how you plan to achieve it, using your experience, background and knowledge to support your essay.

Your essay scoring is based on essay organization, essay focus to the prompt and how well you develop your ideas. The essay is also measured on appropriate English mechanics such as grammar, punctuation, your choice of words and sentence structure.

Timing for these tests is flexible. A total of 120 minutes is allowed, with 75 minutes slotted for the 50 questions in part one and 45 minutes slotted for the essay test. However, GED candidates who finish the first part in less time can devote the remaining time to the second part. Or, if you need more time for the first section and less for the second, you can use remaining time from the essay and return to the multiple-choice section of the writing test.

Understanding the GED Test Score – A Basic Primer
The standard scores for the GED tests range from a minimum of 200 to a maximum of 800 on each test. To pass, 60% is required. This means you’ll want to score at least 410 on each GED test to pass it, and achieve an overall score of 450 for the five-test battery. The score for any single test can’t be less than 410. But if some scores are lower, other GED tests need to be well above 410 so that the scores for all five GED tests average out to a minimum of 450.

Once you’re ready, you’ll take the GED test at an official test center. The centers are located in all major cities across the U.S. and Canada. Even though some companies claim to offer the GED Test or award the GED credential online, it’s not possible. The GED is not given online, only at official test centers. International testing is also available. For a list of official test sites, visit: http://www.passGED.com/test_state.php#1

Additional Resources
The American Council on Education provides information online about testing, official test sites, GED scores, example test questions and GED transcripts. The website address for the ACE is www.gedtest.org.

PassGED is an online community that offers learning solutions and a plethora of with free resources and support for GED students, instructors and programs sponsored by businesses, nonprofits and government. Free information and resources include test advice, study guides, student support, financial aid and an online message board for students and teachers. The website address is http://www.passGED.com.

PBS television station broadcasts GED courses and offers some free online courses. Check out this link for resources or broadcast times: http://www.pbs.org/literacy.