Algebra and the New GED Test - 2014 Version

Math continues to be the number one sticking point for adults hoping to pass the new GED Test.  The fact that the test is now 55% Algebra is all the more daunting for most.  On the previous version, there was Algebra on the test, to be sure.  But, it was only 25% (the average of a 20-30% range) of the test.  You could actually pass the GED Math Test without knowing any Algebra.  The Math passing standard was as low as getting 60% of the test correct.  So, even if you got 25% of the test (Algebra) completely wrong, there was still hope to pass the test.

Enough dwelling on the past.  This is a new year with a new test.  Watch the video below to learn how to attack Linear Equations.

GED^® Teacher Damon Tinnon is a credentialed Adult Education Teacher in the State of California and teaches GED^®Preparation in the beautiful Napa Valley. Tinnon has helped hundreds of students pass the GED^®through his class and has influenced thousands through his straightforward and motivating teaching style over the internet!

GED READING TESTS

Are you ready for the GED reading tests?  Listen to this brief message



and then watch the video below.

GED Grads need to be the most careful

I came across this article on my Facebook timeline tonight.

http://time.com/money/2891693/dropout-factories-diploma-mills/

People with GED diplomas need to be the most careful about this trend because:

* They tend to be guided towards non-competitive academic schools  (Meaning: just about anyone can enroll)

* Due to real or perceived lack of financial capacity, those with GED Diplomas tend to make decisions based on what will cost them the least amount of money right now 

* These so-called "diploma mills" are well documented to have highly aggressive sales people pushing enrollment decisions, even when the decision does not make sense

In the end, these opportunities become yet another educational disappointment and discourage future attempts.

GED^® Teacher Damon Tinnon is a credentialed Adult Education Teacher in the State of California and teaches GED^®Preparation in the beautiful Napa Valley. Tinnon has helped hundreds of students pass the GED^®through his class and has influenced thousands through his straightforward and motivating teaching style over the internet!

GED Resources and the need to recognize the humanity of adult learners

Nationally, some 39 Million US adults lack a High School diploma (click here to see report).  

As a teacher, this is hard to get my hands around because there is a ton of GED resources out here and most of it is free.  Just think about it:

• literally millions of web pages offering GED help online
• probably hundreds of test prep books, DVDs, and software series
• there are over 14,000 School Districts in the US offering some type of GED class
• 9,000 Public Libraries offering some type of literacy/diploma help

In 2012, 702,000 people attempted the test.  Of the 702,000 test takers, 607,000 test takers completed all five test.  Of the 607,000 attempts, 418,000 test takers actually passed the test (click here to get the report).

Now, consider that an estimated 1.2 million students drop out from High School in the US each year.

The image that comes to mind is a battlefield.  As a GED Teacher, I see myself as part of this humongous powerful army, complete with weaponry of all kinds.  I see the opposition as a small, guerilla type outfit.  We, the large army, control the battlefield and terms of the warfare (i.e. the resources, the rules, the schools, the texts, even the test itself ) but the small guerilla oufit (i.e. real life, people's real needs, what it's actually like being an adult student) keeps the war steadily unstoppable and steadily unable to be won. 

Coming out of my battlefield daydream - I go back to November of 2001.  I assigned an essay to my class in preparation for the GED Essay section.  A student wrote about a time in their life when they were violated.  For this student, the GED would allow them to move to Texas, get a cosmetology license and open a hair salon with a cousin.  Then, they would be able to put their past behind them.

A little chocked up, it was hard to tell this student about subject-verb agreement or that they forgot to add a conclusion at the end of the essay.  It didn't feel right to tell them about websites or free tools to really get their writing solid, at least not right then.

I just needed to recognize their humanity.  This student had been hurt and needed just one more person to know about and see it.  I did.