Posttests

How to Use the Posttests

Now that you have finished studying the lessons and exercises in this book, it is time to measure your readiness to take the real GED^® test. There are four posttests in this section, one in each GED^® test subject area: Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA), Mathematical Reasoning, Science, and Social Studies. Each one is designed to match the real exam as closely as possible in format and degree of difficulty. When you take these posttests, your results will help you to determine whether you are ready to take the real GED^® test and, if not, which topics you still need to review.

To make the best use of these posttests, follow these four steps:

1. Take the posttests one at a time. Do not try to work through all four posttests in one session.

2. Take each posttest under test conditions. Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Take the posttest as if it were the actual GED^® test. Work though the posttest from beginning to end in one sitting. Mark your answers directly on the test pages. Observe the time limit given at the start of the test. If you have not finished the posttest when time runs out, mark the last question you answered, and then note how much longer it takes you to complete the test. This information will tell you if you need to speed up your pace and, if so, by how much.

3. Answer every question. On the real GED^® test, there is no penalty for wrong answers, so it makes sense to answer every question, even if you have to guess. If you don’t know an answer, see if you can eliminate one or more of the answer choices. The more choices you can eliminate, the better your chance of guessing correctly!

4. Check your answers in the Answers and Explanations section at the end of each posttest. Pay particular attention to the explanations for questions you missed.

5. Fill out the Evaluation Charts. These charts are located at the end of each Answers and Explanations section. Mark the numbers of the questions you missed, and the chart will show you if you still need to review certain topics.

The number of questions and time limit for each posttest are shown in the following chart.