Here are 10 GED study tips to help students prepare academically and build their test-confidence. These tips are also for parents or tutors of students.
The author, Shirley Erwee has four of her own children who have written the GED®. She has also supported thousands of students who have enrolled with Go Prep™ in South Africa and Lime Feather Learning™. Here are her top tips from this experience.
1. Study a minimum of 2 hours per day
We recommend that students should study at least 2 hours per day, with breaks. The more you study, the faster you will complete the programme, but it is also important that you have time for other interests, sport and leisure.
Parents, encourage your children to spend time out of doors, to do sport or exercise, to get enough rest and to take good care of themselves too. You are training them for independence one day! Check that they are studying when they are at their computer and not wasting time on other media!
2. Start early with English
The Reasoning Through Language Arts course has the most content and takes the longest to work through. It also develops and improves reading comprehension and critical thinking skills, which are vital for success in every other subject.
The Reasoning Through Language Arts section (English) has three component courses on the study programme, Reading, Writing and Language. You must complete all three of these RLA courses before you book your RLA Test. We also recommend the additional Acing the Argumentative Essay short course as most students struggle with the essay component of the GED!
3. Study 2 subjects at a time
We recommend that you start with your favourite subject, plus English. As you complete a course, you can book the test, take the exam and then you are finished with that subject and can tackle the next one.
Science and Social Studies are the two shortest courses, so it is often encouraging and motivating for students to complete one of those first. Maths has 3 levels in the course to be completed so it also takes longer than the other subjects to complete. You can choose to take the tests in the order you prefer!
4. Develop skills not rote learning
Traditional school exams often rely heavily on memorisation of prescribed content. Many consider this system a relic of the previous century, where knowledge of facts was important as we didn’t all have an internet-connected device on hand.
After doing marketplace research in the 21st century, the GED Tests were updated in 2014 to meet the requirements of modern universities and employers.
The GED® tests skills, especially reading comprehension and critical thinking, instead of rote-memory and knowledge of content. In each subject candidates need to read with understanding and then use the information provided to select the correct answers in a multiple choice format.
Students should not be surprised if they are presented with exam questions on topics that are not the same topics as the study programme. In fact, they should EXPECT new topics and not feel unprepared if they do!
If you can read, you can find the answers. The information given might be a text, a diagram, chart, a map or graph. You might need to calculate the correct answer to some questions. Our online GED® prep course will give you practice lessons, quizzes and tests to ensure that you develop these essential skills.
5. Aim high on every lesson
Students should aim to achieve about 80% for a lesson before progressing to the next one. This will ensure that they have truly mastered each skill or concept. Check that they are not rushing hastily through the lessons just to get them done as fast as possible. Encourage students to take ownership of their work and do it thoroughly. If they master a concept once, they are likely to never have to repeat the lesson again! We advise that you only book the test for each subject, when you have completed the course and scored well. The official passing score is 145 out of 200, but we recommend that students should achieve well over 150 on the practice tests on the study programme before they book an official GED® test.
6. Improve touch-typing skills
Students should use a free online typing trainer to improve their touch-typing skills if their typing is not good. Although most of the test is multiple-choice and does not require much in the way of keyboarding skills, this is a vital skill for the workplace of the 21st century and you will feel less stressed about typing your essay in the exam if you know that you type reasonably fast and accurately. Most students don’t feel time-pressured as you get 45 minutes to type your essay.
7. Master essay writing early
Most students struggle with the skills required to write an argumentative essay on the RLA test. This takes time and practice to develop essay writing skills and specifically to understand what is required for the GED test, so you should start early. Because this type of essay is unfamiliar and such a challenge, Shirley created the extra tutorial, Acing the Argumentative Essay on the GED. Those who have used it all say it was most useful, especially once it clarified for them the nature of the question and how to structure the answer. Don’t leave it too late.
“All my students are also using it when they do English. It is extremely helpful.” ~ Jenny Moore, Principal of Haven Academy, Student Support Centre
“Acing the Argumentative Essay” was extremely helpful, thanks.” ~ Elsabé Pienaar
“I am doing your Acing the Argumentative Essay course with one of my students, and we are very keen to actually have all our Grade 8 to 10 students do the course. I am also going to have my staff do the course as a tool to upskill their English essay marking and editing skills for all grades.” ~ Bronwyn Murray, Thrive Academy
8. Aim to complete all tests by September
If you start preparing for the GED Tests at the beginning of the year, then aim to complete all four GED® Tests by about September or October. This will enable you to have your results in time to apply to tertiary institutions for the next year. Most test centres get fully booked up very quickly in November and December and you might struggle to get a test appointment at that time of year. You can still take tests the next year, even if your enrolment with Lime Feather Learning™ has ended. Enrolment runs for 365 days from the date of activation. It is not linked to the school year, the calendar or to the GED Testing Service’s exam system. There is no deadline for completing the exams in any given time frame.
9. Apply for accommodations
If a student has any professionally diagnosed learning difficulties, you can apply for accommodations. These are granted on a case-by-case basis. Generally, students get extra time or extra breaks but other concessions may be arranged where necessary. You should apply at least a month before your first test. Tests booked with accommodations may not be rescheduled. Click here for information about accommodations and the necessary application forms.
10. Take a mock exam to build your confidence
Once you have completed the online study course and passed the practice tests with high scores, you can book a mock exam. This test is taken on your computer. The format is exactly the same as the official GED® Test but it is half the length. You can book the GED READY® test via the GED Testing Service website before your first exam. It will tell you if you are likely to pass and this will help to lower any exam anxiety and build a student’s self-confidence, especially if they achieve a good score. Here’s how: How to book a test.
Read our GED Success Stories