GED Social Studies For Dummies

Achim K. Krull, Murray Shukyn

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781119029830
• eBook ISBN: 9781119029847
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Study Aids
• Subtopic: Study Guides

Gear up to crush the GED Social Studies Test

Does the thought of taking the GED Social Studies Test send shivers down your spine? Fear not! With the help of GED Social Studies Test For Dummies, you'll get up to speed on the new structure and computer-based format of the GED and gain the confidence and know-how to pass the Social Studies Test like a pro. Packed with helpful guidance and instruction, this hands-on test-prep guide covers the concepts covered on the GED Social Studies Test and gives you ample practice opportunities to assess your understanding of Civics and Government, History, Economics, and Geography.

Designed to test your understanding of the fundamentals of social studies reasoning and the ability to apply those fundamentals in realistic situations, the GED Social Studies Test can be tough for the uninitiated. Luckily, this fun and accessible guide breaks down each section of the exam into easily digestible parts, making everything you'll encounter on exam day feel like a breeze! Inside, you'll find methods to sharpen your vocabulary and writing skills, tips on how to approach GED Social Studies Test question types and formats, practice questions and study exercises, and a full-length practice test to help you pinpoint where you need more study help.

• Presents reviews of the GED Social Studies test question types and basic computer skills
• Offers practice questions to assess your knowledge of each subject area
• Includes one full-length GED Social Studies practice test
• Provides scoring guidelines and detailed answer explanations

Even if Social Studies is something that's always made you wince, GED Social Studies Test For Dummies makes it easy to pass this crucial exam and obtain your hard-earned graduate equivalency diploma.

Part I

Getting Started with the GED Social Studies Test

For Dummies can help you get started with lots of subjects. Visit www.dummies.com to learn more and do more with For Dummies.

In this part …

Get oriented to the test format, question types, test scheduling, and scoring, and find out what steps to take if English isn’t your first language.

Find out what’s on the GED Social Studies test and the knowledge and skills you’ll be required to demonstrate on the test.

Take a diagnostic test to identify your strengths and weaknesses and highlight the areas where you may need additional practice.

Find out what you should or shouldn’t do on the day(s) before and the day of the test and during the exam.

Chapter 1

Taking a Quick Glance at the GED Social Studies Test

In This Chapter

Warming up to the GED test format

Checking out what’s on the GED Social Studies test

Registering for the test and choosing a test date

Completing the GED test when English is your second language

Understanding what your score means and how it’s determined

The GED test offers high-school dropouts, people who leave school early, and people who were educated outside the United States an opportunity to earn the equivalent of a United States (U.S.) high-school diploma without the need for full-time attendance in either day or night school. The GED test is a recognized standard that makes securing a job or college placement easier.

The GED test complies with current 12th-grade standards in the United States and meets the College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education. The GED test also covers the Common Core Standards used in most states. These standards are based on the actual expectations stated by employers and postsecondary institutions.

The GED test measures whether you understand what high-school seniors across the country have studied before they graduate. Employers need better-educated employees. In addition, some colleges may be uncertain of the quality of foreign credentials. The GED provides those assurances. When you pass the GED test, you earn a high-school equivalency diploma. That can open many doors for you, perhaps doors that you don’t even know exist at this point.

You’re permitted to take the GED test in sections, so you can take the Reasoning Through Language Arts (RLA), Math, Science, and Social Studies tests in separate testing sessions. This flexibility enables you to focus your studies and practice on one section of the test at a time, and this book supports your efforts to do just that.

Ready to get started? This chapter gives you the basics of the GED Social Studies test: how the test is administered, what the Social Studies test section looks like, how to schedule the test (including whether you’re eligible), and how your score is calculated (so you know what you need to focus on to pass).

Knowing What to Expect: The GED Test Format

A computer administers the GED test. That means that all the questions appear on a computer screen, and you enter all your answers into a computer with a keyboard and mouse. You read, evaluate, analyze, and write everything on the computer. Even when drafting an essay, you don’t use paper. Instead, the test centers provide you with an erasable tablet. If you know how to use a computer and are comfortable with a keyboard and a mouse, you’re ahead of the game. If not, practice your keyboarding. Also, practice reading from a computer screen, because reading from a screen is very different from reading printed materials. At the very least, you need to get more comfortable with computers, even if that means taking a short course at a local learning center. In the case of the GED test, the more familiar you are with computers, the more comfortable you’ll feel taking the computerized test.

Under certain circumstances, the sections are available in booklet format as a special accommodation. Check with the GED Testing Service to see what exceptions are acceptable.

The computer-based GED test allows for speedy detailed feedback on your performance. When you pass (yes, we said when and not if, because we believe in you), the GED Testing Service provides both a diploma and a detailed transcript of your scores, similar to what high-school graduates receive. They’re now available online at www.gedtestingservice.com within a day of completing the test. You can then send your transcript and diploma to an employer or college. Doing so allows employers and colleges access to a detailed outline of your scores, achievement, and demonstrated skills and abilities. This outline is also a useful tool for you to review your progress. It highlights those areas where you did well and areas where you need further work. If you want to (or have to) retake the test, these results will provide a detailed guide to what you should work on to improve your scores. Requests for additional copies of transcripts are handled online and also are available within a day.

Reviewing the GED Social Studies Test

The Social Studies test is scheduled for 90 minutes. You have 65 minutes to answer the multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions and 25 minutes to write your Extended Response (an essay). You get no break between the two sections of the test and can’t transfer time from one section to the other. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll see on this test:

• Multiple-choice, drag-and-drop, hot spot, and fill-in-the-blank questions: The source text and data for these question types varies. For about half of the questions you get one source item, such as a graph or text, followed by a single question. Other items present a single source item as the basis for several questions. In either case, you need to analyze and evaluate the content presented to you as part of the question. The test items evaluate your ability to answer questions by using reasoning and analytical skills. The information for the source materials comes from primary and secondary sources, both text and visual. That means you need to be able to “read” charts, tables, maps, and graphs as well as standard text materials.
• Extended Response: In this part of the Social Studies test, you’re presented with two source texts, usually a quote and a longer passage. You are required to analyze how the issues expressed represent an enduring issue in American history.

The content of the Social Studies test is drawn from these four areas:

• Civics and government: The largest part (about 50 percent of the test) focuses on civics and government. These items examine the development of democracy from ancient times to modern days. Other topics include how civilizations change over time and respond to crises.
• American history: American history makes up 20 percent of the test. It covers all topics from the pilgrims and early settlement to the American Revolution, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War, and current history — all of which involve the United States in one way or another.
• Economics: Economics makes up about 15 percent of the test. The economics portion examines basic theories, such as supply and demand, the role of government policies in the economy, and macro- and microeconomic theory.
• Geography and the world: This area also makes up 15 percent of the test. The areas with which you need to become familiar are very topical: sustainability and environmental issues, population issues, and rural and urban settlement. Other topics include cultural diversity and migration and those issues that are of universal and not national concern.

You’re not expected to be a historian or a civics professor. You won’t be asked to identify state capitals, identify the key issues that triggered the Civil War, or name the ships that Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World. All the information you need to answer the questions is provided in the reading passages, maps, graphs, questions, and other material provided on the test. Only the Extended Response requires some prior outsid...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Part I: Getting Started with the GED Social Studies Test
• Part II: Enhancing Your Social Studies Skills
• Part III: Nurturing Your Knowledge: History, Civics, Economics, and Geography
• Part IV: Testing Your Social Studies Knowledge and Skills
• Part V: The Part of Tens
• About the Authors
• Cheat Sheet
• Connect with Dummies
• End User License Agreement