A Winning Formula to Pass the GED Math Test

After helping thousands of Adult Learners to pass the GED Test since 2001, I have learned a few core principles for GED success.  One core principle is that targets help you to succeed.  If you go into the test knowing that you do not need to ace the test, just pass the test, you are more likely to be focused and achieve your goal.

(I know the GED offers "college ready" and "honor passing" but this does not matter for many.  If you are applying into an open enrollment environment such as a community college, then who really cares if you career and college ready.)

And, once you get into the job market, most employers won't have any idea what honors passing on the GED Test means anyway!   At best, they might say, "Good for you!"

The video below demonstrates my winning formula for the passing the GED Math Test.  Just pass it!





As always, you have to practice.  Below is a practice test that will help you.  Sign up for a free account and then take the practice test.  You will receive your scores at the end.

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 local class and has influenced thousands through his straightforward and motivating teaching style over the internet! Visit us at www.mygedlive.com

GED Video and Practice Test

Below is a video from my earlier days of teaching GED Prep.  It provides some framework to help you answer at least a few of the question in the practice test that follows below.  If you have questions, do not hesitate to call/text me at 707-385-1680.

Below is a practice GED Math Test.  Once you sign up (remember your user name and password) you can use it to take most of the tests that I post.  If you have trouble viewing the test below, CLICK HERE.

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 local class and has influenced thousands through his straightforward and motivating teaching style over the internet! Visit us at www.mygedlive.com

Are you ready to try a new approach to passing the GED Test?

This week's Video of the Week is an example of what is at the base of everything I have done since 2001.  It is how I have helped thousands of people to pass the GED Test.  It's why the Get Your GED Now Test Preparation Series really gets results for you.  That result is you passing the GED Test!  My plan doesn't involve grinding you down with useless worksheets and busy work.  If you're sick of trying the same ol' thing and getting the same ol' result - then it's time to try something different.  Enjoy the video below!

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 local class and has influenced thousands through his straightforward and motivating teaching style over the internet! Visit us at www.mygedlive.com

Looser GED rules encouraging carelessness?

Over the last few months, I have noticed a large increase in students taking the GED Test with no preparation.  I have heard, "I know I'm going to fail" and "I just started studying last week, Lol" and I have received the question "I am taking the test tomorrow morning, any tips?"

Tips?  Tips?  Are you kidding me?  There are people out there who would trust their future to tips?

No wonder only 85,000 people passed the GED Test last year.  In the old model, the scores were averaged and a higher test score could help a lower test score.  In most places, you had to take the test in 4-5 hour blocks.  You also had to pay for the entire test at one time in most states.

Now you can take one test at a time and pay for one test at a time.  I wonder if these looser rules are encouraging people to be careless and "just try it out," sensing less risk.

My encouragement to you is to actually prepare for this test.  Don't leave your future to "tips" and "Lol," instead, get real help and be prepared!

The video below is the GED Video of the Week.  It is on Percents.  

Bird Problem #1 - Percent from Damon Tinnon on Vimeo.

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 local class and has influenced thousands through his straightforward and motivating teaching style over the internet! Visit us at www.mygedlive.com

GED Video of the Week: February 23, 2015

I was stunned to read a tweet about the drastic drop in successful GED candidates in 2014.  The number I read was 85,000.  85,000.  85,000?
That was down from 475,000 successful GED candidates in the year before, 2013.  Well, there is not time to bemoan statistics.  I want to get down to work with people who are ready to get serious about preparing for this test and then passing this test.

I spend so much time talking about math - because it is needed - but I want to shift gears to writing.  There are three separate writing assignments on the GED Test.  

• The Extended Response section of the RLA
• The response to the prompt on the Social Studies Test
• The Short Answer response on the Science Test

This week's video talks about the Extended Response section of the RLA.

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 local class and has influenced thousands through his straightforward and motivating teaching style over the internet! Visit us at www.mygedlive.com

Live GED Class Feb. 7, 2015 @ 9am (PST)

http://shoutout.wix.com/so/eKjJfKMY#/main

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 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.