In This Chapter

Preparing in the weeks and days leading up to the test

Leveraging the power of the diagnostic and practice tests

Knowing what to expect on test day

Nailing down important test-taking strategies

Staying calm and relaxed while you take the test

You may never have taken a standardized test before. Or if you have, you may wake up sweating in the middle of the night from nightmares about your past experiences. Whether you’ve experienced the joys or sorrows of standardized tests, you must know how to perform well on them to succeed on the GED Social Studies test, which consists mostly of multiple-choice questions.

The good news is that you’ve come to the right spot to find out more about this type of test. This chapter explains some important pointers on how to prepare on the days and nights before the test, what to do on the morning of the test, and what to do during the test to be successful. You also discover some important test-taking strategies to build your confidence.

Gearing Up for Test Time

Doing well on the GED Social Studies test involves more than walking into the test site and answering the questions. You need to be prepared for the challenges in the test. To ensure that you’re ready to tackle the test head-on, do the following leading up to the test:

Get enough sleep. We’re sorry if we sound like your parents, but it’s true; you shouldn’t take tests when you’re approaching exhaustion. Plan your time so you can get a good night’s sleep for several days before the test and avoid excess caffeine. If you prepare ahead of time, you’ll be ready, and sleep will come easier.
Eat a good breakfast. A healthy breakfast fuels your mind and body. You have to spend several hours taking the test, and you definitely don’t want to falter during that time. Eat some protein, such as eggs, bacon, or sausage with toast for breakfast. Avoid sugars (doughnuts, jelly, fruit, and so on) because they can cause you to tire easily. You don’t want your empty stomach fighting with your full brain.
Take some deep breaths. During your trip to the testing site, prepare yourself mentally for the test. Clear your head of all distractions, practice deep breathing, and imagine yourself acing the test. Don’t panic.
Start at the beginning, not the end. Remember that the day of the test is the end of a long journey of preparation and not the beginning. It takes time to build mental muscles.
Be on time. Make sure you know what time the test begins and the exact location of your test site. Arrive early. If necessary, take a practice run to make sure you have enough time to get from your home or workplace to the testing center. You don’t need the added pressure of worrying about whether you can make it to the test on time. In fact, this added pressure can create industrial-strength panic in the calmest of people.

Traffic congestion happens. No one can plan for it, but you can leave extra time to make sure it doesn’t ruin your day. Plan your route and practice it. Then leave extra time in case a meteor crashes into the street and the crowd that gathers around it stalls your progress. Even though the GED test is now administered on a computer and not everyone has to start at the same time, test centers are open only for certain hours, and if they close before you finish, you won’t get any sympathy. Check the times the test center is open. Examiners won’t show you a lot of consideration if you show up too late to complete the test because you didn’t check the times. They have even less sympathy if you show up on the wrong date.

Using the Diagnostic and Practice Tests to Your Advantage

Taking diagnostic and practice GED Social Studies tests is important for a few reasons, including the following:

They help you prepare for the test. Practice tests, the diagnostic test in particular (Chapter 3), shed light on knowledge and skills you need to focus on leading up to the actual test.
They give you an indication of how well you know the material. One or two tests won’t give you a definitive answer to how you’ll do on the actual test, because you need to do four or five tests to cover all possible topics, but they do give you an indication of where you stand.
They confirm whether you know how to use the computer to answer the questions. You don’t get this benefit by taking the practice tests in the book, but you can go online at www.gedtestingservice.com/educators/freepracticetest to take a computer-based practice test.
They familiarize you with the test format. You can read about test questions, but you can’t actually understand them until you’ve worked through several.
They can ease your stress. A successful run-through on a practice test allows you to feel more comfortable and confident in your own abilities to take the GED test successfully and alleviate your overall anxiety.

Turn to Chapter 3 to take the diagnostic test or to Chapter 13 to take the practice test. These tests are an important part of any preparation program. They’re the feedback mechanism that you may normally get from a private tutor. To get the most out of any practice test, be sure to check your answers after each test and read the answer explanations. If possible, take the additional GED Testing Service practice tests mentioned earlier in this section and a few more sample questions you can find at www.gedtestingservice.com/testers/sample-questions. Use your favorite Internet search engine to find more practice tests online. The GED Testing Service also offers GED Ready tests that you can purchase through authorized outlets.

Packing for Test Day

The GED test may be the most important exam you ever take. Treat it seriously and come prepared. Make sure you bring the following items with you on test day:

You: The most important thing to bring to the GED test is obviously you. If you enroll to take the test, you have to show up; otherwise, you’ll receive a big fat zero and lose your testing fee. If something unfortunate happens after you enroll, contact the test center and explain your situation to the test administrators. They may reschedule the test with no additional charge.
Correct identification: Before test officials let you into the room to take the test, they want to make sure you’re you. Bring the approved photo ID — your state GED office can tell you what’s an approved form of photo ID. Have your ID in a place where you can reach it easily. And when asked to identify yourself, don’t pull out a mirror and say, “Yep, that’s me.”
Registration receipt and any fees you still owe: Check with your local administrator to confirm when and where the fee has to be paid and how to pay it. The same people don’t run all test centers. With some, you may have to pay in advance when booking the test. In that case, bring your receipt to avoid any misunderstandings. Others may allow you to pay at the door. Find out whether you can use cash, check, debit, or credit card. The amount of the GED test registration fee also varies from state to state. If you don’t pay, you can’t play, or in this case, take the test.

If needed, you may be able to get financial assistance to help with the testing fees. Further, if you do the test one section at a time (which we recommend), you can probably pay for each test section separately. Check with your state or local education authorities.
Registration confirmation: The registration confirmation is your proof that you did register. If you’re taking the test in an area where everybody knows you and everything you do, you may not need the confirmation, but we suggest you take it anyway. It’s light and doesn’t take up much room in your pocket.
Other miscellaneous items: In the instructions you receive after you register for the test, you get a list of what you need to bring with you. Besides yourself and the items we list previously, other items you want to bring or wear include the following:
- Comfortable clothes and shoes: When you’re taking the test, you want to be as relaxed as possible. Uncomfortable clothes and shoes may distract you from doing your best. You’re taking the GED test, not modeling the most recent fashions. Consider dressing in layers; you don’t want to be too hot or too cold.
- Reading glasses: If you need glasses to read a computer monitor, don’t forget to bring them to the test. Bring a spare pair, if you have one. You can’t do the test if you can’t read the screen. And before you go, make sure your reading glasses work with a computer screen. The focal distance for reading print materials and computer screens is different, depending on your prescription.
- Calculator: You’re provided with an onscreen calculator. You can bring your own handheld calculator, but it must be a specific make and model. Visit www.gedtestingservice.com/testers/calculator to find out more about the onscreen calculator and which handheld make and model you’re allowed to bring. In either case, be sure to familiarize yourself with that model calculator before the test.

The rules about what enters the testing room are strict. Don’t take any chances. If something isn’t on the list of acceptable items and isn’t normal clothing, leave it at home. Laptops, cellphones, and other electronic devices will most likely be banned from the testing area. Leave them at home or locked in your car. The last place on earth to discuss whether you can bring something into the test site is at the door on test day. If you have questions, contact the test center in advance. Check out the GED Testing Service website to start the registration process and find a list of sites close to your home with their addresses and phone numbers. You can also call 877-EXAM-GED (877-392-6433) to have real people answer your questions.

Whatever you do, be sure not to bring the following with you to the GED testing center:

Books
Notes or scratch paper
MP3 players or tablets
Cellphone (leave it at home or in your car)
Anything valuable, like a laptop computer, that you don’t feel comfortable leaving outside the room while you take the test

Getting Comfortable Before the Test Begins

You usually take the GED Social Studies test in an examination room with at least one official (sometimes called a proctor or examiner) who’s in charge of monitoring you while you take the test. (Some locations have smaller test centers that have space for no more than 15 test-takers at a time.) In either case, the test is the same.

As soon as you sit down to take the GED Social Studies test, spend a few moments before the test actually starts to relax and get comfortable. You’re going to be in the chair for quite some time, so settle in. Keep these few tips in mind before you begin:

Make sure that the screen is at a comfortable height and adjust your chair to a height that suits you. Unlike a pencil-and-paper test, you’ll be working with a monitor and keyboard. Although you can shift the keyboard around and maybe adjust the angle of the monitor, generally you’re stuck in that position for the duration of the test. If you need to make any adjustments, make them before you start. You want to feel as physically comfortable as possible.
Find out whether you can have something to drink at your computer station. You may depend on that second cup of coffee to keep you upright and thinking. Even a bottle of water may make your life easier.
Go to the bathroom before you start. This may sound like a silly suggestion, but it all contributes to being comfortable. You don’t need distractions. Even if permitted during the test, bathroom breaks take time away from the test.

The proctor reads the test instructions to you and lets you log into the computer to start the test. Listen carefully to these instructions so you know how much time you have to take the test as well as any other important information.

Brushing Up on Test-Taking Strategies

You can increase your score by mastering a few smart test-taking strategies. To help you do so, we give you some tips in these sections on how to

Plan your time.
Determine the question type.
Figure out how to answer the different types of questions.
Guess intelligently.
Review your work.

Watching the clock: Using your time wisely

When you start the computerized version of the GED Social Studies test, you may feel pressed for time and have the urge to rush through the questions. We strongly advise that you don’t. You have sufficient time to do the test at a reasonable pace. You have only a certain amount of time for each section in the GED exam, so time management is an important part of succeeding on the test. You need to plan ahead and use your time wisely.

You don’t get a break on the Social Studies GED test; you’re required to complete it in a single sitting. Only the RLA (Reasoning Through Language Arts) test offers students a break.

During the test, the computer keeps you constantly aware of the time with a clock in the upper right-hand corner. Pay attention to the clock. When the test begins, check that time, and be sure to monitor how much time you have left as you work your way through the test. The GED Social Studies test is 90 minutes long. You have 65 minutes to answer a variety of question-and-answer items and then 25 minutes to write an Extended Response (essay) of 250 to 500 words.

As you start on the question-and-answer items, scroll through the test and find out how many questions you have to answer. (Not all GED Social Studies tests have the same number of questions.) Quickly divide the time by the number of questions. Doing so can give you a rough idea of how much time to spend on each question. For example, suppose that you see you have 50 questions to answer in 65 minutes. Divide the time by the number of questions to find out how much time you have for each item: 65/50 = 1.3, which is about 1 minute and 20 seconds per question. As you progress, repeat the calculation to see how you’re doing. And remember that you can do questions in any order, except for the Extended Response item. Do the easiest questions first. If you get stuck on a question, leave it and come back to it later if you have time. Keeping to that schedule and answering as many questions as possible are essential.

If you don’t monitor the time for each question, you won’t have time to answer all the questions on the test. Keep in mind the following general time-management tips to help you complete each exam on time:

Tackle questions in groups. For example, calculate how much time you have for each item on each test. Multiply the answer by 5 to give you a time slot for any five test items. Then try to answer each group of five items within the time you calculated. Doing so helps you complete all the questions and leaves you several minutes for review.
Keep calm and don’t panic. The time you spend panicking is better spent answering questions.
Practice using the diagnostic and practice tests in this book. The more you practice timed sample test questions, the easier managing a timed test becomes. You can get used to doing something in a limited amount of time if you practice. Refer to the earlier section “Using the Diagnostic and Practice Tests to Your Advantage” for more information.

When time is up, immediately stop and breathe a sigh of relief. The examiner will give you a log-off procedure. Listen for instructions on what to do or where to go next.

Evaluating the different questions

Although you don’t have to know much about how the test questions were developed to answer them correctly, you do need some understanding of how they’re constructed. Knowing the types of items you’re dealing with can make answering them easier — and you’ll face fewer surprises.

To evaluate the types of questions that you have to answer, keep these tips in mind:

As soon as the computer signals that the test is running, start by skimming the questions. Don’t spend a lot of time doing so — just enough to spot the questions you absolutely know and the ones you think you’ll need more time to answer.
Rely on the Previous and Next buttons on the bottom of the screen to scroll through the questions. After you finish skimming, answer all the questions you know first; that way, you leave yourself much more time for the difficult questions. Check out the later section “Addressing and answering questions” for tips on how to answer questions.
Answer the easiest questions first. You don’t have to answer questions in order. Nobody except you will ever know, or care, in which order you answer the questions, so do the easiest questions first. You’ll be able to answer them the most quickly, leaving more time for the other, harder questions.
Answer all questions. No points are deducted for wrong answers. Look at the answer choices. You can discard some as obviously wrong. That may leave you to guess among a few choices rather than all four options. Guessing may mean getting the right answer; leaving the answer blank means a definite zero. And don’t forget to go back to any questions you skipped.

Knowing the question type can shape the way you think about the answer. Some questions ask you to analyze a passage or extract from a document, which means the information you need is in the source text. Others ask you to infer from the passage, which means that not all of the information is in the passage. Although none of the tests are labeled with the following titles, the GED test questions assess your skills in these areas.

You use three basic skills on the Social Studies test: analysis, application of concepts, and interpretation. Some questions require you to break down information in source text materials and make inferences or draw conclusions. Analyzing information requires you to

Separate facts from opinions: Unless the text you’re reading gives evidence or “proof” to support statements, treat them as opinion. You also need to identify biases and propaganda and opinions shaped by particular times and events.
Extract data from reading passages, tables, and charts: You need to be able to understand data presented in various ways.
Identify a cause-and-effect relationship: Events in history, economics, and politics are often the results of a sequence of events. Understand how society got here from there.
Infer: You may be asked to reach a conclusion based on evidence presented in the question. Inferring is a fancy way of saying that you’ll draw a conclusion from the details presented.
Compare: Consider the similarities and differences between ideas or issues from history, economics, geography, or politics, to evaluate and explain their significance or impact.
Contrast: If you consider the differences between ideas or issues, you’re contrasting them. You may contrast the events leading to strengthening the union movement under FDR to current antiunion movements and attitudes.
Understand: When analyzing primary and secondary sources, you must show how history, politics, social issues, or the environment shape human actions.
Evaluate: You need to weigh the materials presented for validity and evaluate the credibility of the author(s) of the sources.

Relating to other people in social situations exposes most people to these skills. For example, in most sports-related conversations between friends (or rivals), you quickly figure out how to separate fact from opinion and how to infer, compare, contrast, and identify cause-and-effect relationships. In other social situations, you come to realize when an assumption isn’t stated. For example, you assume that your best friend going to join you for a late coffee the night before an important test, but, in reality, your friend may be planning to go to bed early. Unstated assumptions you make can get you into trouble, both in life and on the GED test.

Addressing and answering questions

When you start the test, you want to have a game plan in place for how to answer the questions. Keep the following pointers in mind to help you address each question:

Whenever you read a question, ask yourself, “What am I being asked?” Doing so helps you stay focused on what you need to find out to answer the question. You may even want to decide quickly what skills are required to answer the question (see the preceding section for more on these skills). Then try to answer it.
Try to eliminate some answers. Even if you don’t really know the answer, guessing can help. When you’re offered four answer choices, some will be obviously wrong. Eliminate those choices, and you’ve already improved your odds of guessing a correct answer.
Don’t overthink. Because all the questions are straightforward, don’t look for hidden or sneaky questions. The questions ask for an answer based on the information given.
Find the answer choice you think is best and quickly verify that it answers the question. If it does, click on that choice and move on. If it doesn’t, leave it and come back to it if you have time after you answer all the other questions. Remember: You need to pick the most correct answer from the choices offered even if it’s not the perfect answer.

Guess for success: Using intelligent guessing

The multiple-choice questions, regardless of the on-screen format, provide you with four possible answers. You get between one and three points for every correct answer. Nothing is subtracted for incorrect answers. That means you can guess on the items you don’t know for sure without fear that you’ll lose points if your guess is incorrect. Make educated guesses by eliminating as many obviously wrong choices as possible and choosing from the remaining choices.

When the question gives you four possible answers and you randomly choose one, you have a 25 percent chance of guessing the correct answer without even reading the question. Of course, we don’t recommend using this method during the test.

If you know that one of the answers is definitely wrong, you now have just three answers to choose from and have a 33 percent chance (one in three) of choosing the correct answer. If you know that two of the answers are wrong, you leave yourself only two possible answers to choose from, giving you a 50 percent (one in two) chance of guessing right — much better than 25 percent! Removing one or two choices you know are wrong makes choosing the correct answer much easier.

If you don’t know the answer to a particular question, try to spot the wrong choices by following these tips:

Make sure your answer really answers the question. Wrong choices usually don’t answer the question — that is, they may sound good, but they answer a different question than the one the test asks.
When two answers seem very close, consider both answers carefully because they both can’t be right — but they both can be wrong. Some answer choices may be very close, and all seem correct, but there’s a fine line between completely correct and nearly correct. Be careful. These answer choices are sometimes given to see whether you really understand the material.
Look for opposite answers in the hopes that you can eliminate one. If two answers contradict each other, both can’t be right, but both can be wrong.
Trust your instincts. Some wrong choices may just strike you as wrong when you first read them. If you spend time preparing for these exams, you probably know more than you think.

Leaving time for review

Having a few minutes at the end of a test to check your work is a great way to set your mind at ease. These few minutes give you a chance to look at any questions that may be troubling. If you’ve chosen an answer for every question, enjoy the last few minutes before time is called — without any panic. Keep the following tips in mind as you review your answers:

After you know how much time you have per item, try to answer each item in a little less than that time. The extra seconds you don’t use the first time through the test add up to time at the end of the test for review. Some questions require more thought and decision making than others. Use your extra seconds to answer those questions.
Don’t try to change a lot of answers at the last minute. Second-guessing yourself can lead to trouble. Often, second-guessing leads you to changing correct answers to incorrect ones. If you’ve prepared well and worked numerous sample questions, then you’re likely to get the correct answers the first time. Ignoring all your preparation and knowledge to play a hunch isn’t a good idea, either at the race track or on a test.
If you have time left after writing your Extended Response essay, use any extra time to reread and review the essay. You may have written a good essay, but you always need to check for typos and grammar mistakes. The essay is evaluated for style, content, and proper English. That includes spelling and grammar.

Sharpening Your Mental Focus

To succeed in taking the GED Social Studies test, you need to be prepared. In addition to studying the content and honing the skills required, you also want to be mentally prepared. Although you may be nervous, you can’t let your nerves get the best of you. Stay calm and take a deep breath. Here are a few pointers to help you stay focused on the task at hand:

Take time to rest and relax. Rest and relaxation are restorative, revitalizing your body and providing your brain with the downtime it needs to digest all the information you’ve been feeding it.
Make sure you know the rules of the room before you begin. If you have questions about using the bathroom during the test or what to do if you finish early, ask the proctor before you begin. If you don’t want to ask these questions in public, call the GED office in your area before test day and ask your questions over the telephone. For general GED questions, call 877-392-6433 or check out www.gedtestingservice.com. This site has many pages, but the FAQ page is always a good place to start.
Keep your eyes on your computer screen. Everybody knows not to look at other people’s work during the test, but to be on the safe side, don’t stretch, roll your eyes, or do anything else that may be mistaken for looking at another test. Most of the tests will be different on the various computers, so looking around is futile, but doing so can get you into a lot of trouble.
Stay calm. Your nerves can use up a lot of energy needed for the test. Concentrate on the job at hand. You can always be nervous or panicky some other time.

Because taking standardized tests probably isn’t a usual situation for you, you may feel nervous. This feeling is perfectly normal. Just try to focus on answering one question at a time and push any other thoughts to the back of your mind. Sometimes taking a few deep breaths can clear your mind, but don’t spend a lot of time focusing on your breath. After all, your main job is to pass this test.

Succeeding on the GED Social Studies Test