June 8, 2006 Newsletter
Hello from Leonard,
I received an email last week from a new passGED student who wanted to better understand how our GED online study program actually helps them prepare for the GED. Good question. ?
The American Council on Education (ACE), the people who design and write the GED, gives schools a blueprint to follow to create a rigorous instructional program. They tell us what subjects will be covered and what kind of questions will be included. Below is an outline of the GED Curriculum we use at passGED for our online study programs. Our study programs exceed the recommendations from the ACE. We want to make sure you are really ready for the tests and will get a maximum score. ??Our online study program contains six elements that prepare you for the GED.
1. Teaching Questions: These are the core of the study program. They’re designed to teach you the basic thinking skills and knowledge you’ll need to pass the GED. Each course contains 25 to 30 Teaching Question lessons that teach you the basics. The Teaching Questions use a unique instructional design that let’s you eavesdrop on other people trying to solve GED questions, and then you get to solve the problem yourself. Be sure to listen to my explanations after each lesson even if you got the answer correct. This is where the teaching really happens.
2. Practice Questions: In each online course there are a set of Practice Questions to test your progress in your learning. These include explanations as well and well help cement your learning in the study areas. Use the Practice Questions after you have completed the Teaching Questions to test yourself.
3. Online Practice Questions: Your study program includes access to GED 21st Century by Steck-Vaughn. This is an online practice test program that we license and make available to you. It contains 4 complete practice tests, 2 full- length and 2 half-length. Your scores on these tests are recorded in the Reports section. The scores are converted to the same scoring system used on the GED exams. You should try to get a 450 or better on each test.
4. Complete GED Preparation Study Guide: Use this book for instruction in areas you need additional help with. This book is easy to follow and has lots of practice questions to further help your learning. Another way to use this book is with the Online Practice Tests. On the Reports Menu there is a cool feature called: Prescriptions. The Prescriptions will give pages in your Study Guide, Complete GED Preparation, to study. ?
5. Instructional Links: Each lesson in our online course contains links to other sites that will build on your knowledge base. Don’t skip these. There are many many hours of instruction that’ll help you with your study. You will also find valuable links on your login menu that have instruction in math, study skills and strategies and learning styles. ?
6. How To Prepare for the GED – e-book: We think of this as the missing book for GED preparation. It has chapters on study skills, test taking strategies, critical thinking skills and essay writing. It is a pdf file that you download directly to your computer.
GED CURRICULUM
LANGUAGE ARTS: READING AND CRITICAL THINKING
• Draw conclusions by choosing salient information from text
• Determine main idea of passages
• Draw inferences from text
• Understand vocabulary from context by choosing contextual clues
• Increase vocabulary recognition
• Differentiate between fact and opinion
• Recall facts and details
• Understand, analyze, and interpret written materials based on work-related topics?
LANGUAGE ARTS: WRITING SKILLS
• Organize ideas
• Recognize and practice the elements of essay writing
• Use and understand an effective organizational pattern
• Practice proofreading and editing
• Identify common problems in writing, usage, and punctuation
• Analyze and revise drafts to strengthen writing?
MATHEMATICS: COMPUTATION AND PROBLEM-SOLVING
• Number operations and number sense
• Use operations with integers
• Fractions, decimals, percents, & interest
• Solve multi-step equations
• Work with real life word problems
• Measurement
• Data analysis, probability, graphs and charts
• Algebra
• Geometry?
SCIENCE
• Practice problem solving questions
• Develops conceptual understanding of science concepts
• Review passages with illustrated content
• Covers life science, physical science, earth science, and space science?
SOCIAL STUDIES
• Measures concepts from history, geography, civics and government, and economics
• Covers comprehension, application, analysis, and evaluation questions
• Learn to comprehend charts, maps, tables, political cartoons
• Uses U.S. historical documents as source materials?
So, that gives you an overview of the passGED study program. If you have questions or comments please add them below. We are always open to suggestions for making our programs better.
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