GED® 2014

Most of you have already been following the updates through www.gedtestingservice.com regarding the new 2014 test. As updates and information is released, I will also post links here on this post, so feel free to check back occasionally and see what's new!

Free Practice Tests
GED® Testing Service has released free versions of their practice tests in all subjects. These practice tests are shorter in length than the actual ones (which cost $6.00 per test!) and do not provide any score reports or diagnostics at the end. These are simply meant to give instructors an idea of what the students can expect when they take the official GED Ready^TM practice test.

This page also has links to the computer skills tutorial that you might want to check out.

Item Samplers
This page has links to download the item samplers for each subject area (click on Get It Now in the top, right corner). The item samplers are not meant to take the place of a practice test; they are simply meant to show the full range of item types that you may find on the GED® test. They do not reflect the full range of difficulty of the test, nor do they indicate the actual test distribution of item types.

Scoring Tools for Written Responses on the GED Ready
The Educator Scoring Tool is designed to help instructors better understand how their students' written responses might be scored on the GED® 2014 test. The tool breaks down each trait into dimensions and sub-dimensions to consider when determining the overall score of a response. It also includes charts to help you track your students' responses for the GED Ready^TM  practice exams.

Scoring Tool for RLA
Scoring Tool for Social Studies
Scoring Tool for Science: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis
Scoring Tool for Science: Solubility Experiment Design
Scoring Tool for Science: Wind Power


FAQ
Frequently asked questions regarding the 2014 test.

Tutorials for Students
Direct students to this link in order to watch video tutorials on how to create an account, schedule a test, etc. as well as a computer-based testing tutorial to help them prepare for the test before they sign up.

http://www.gedtestingservice.com/testers/test-on-computer-tutorials


Extra Resources

Math Symbol Chart and Explanation Guide
Calculator Demonstration Video
Short Answer Scoring Guide
Extended Response Resource Guide-RLA  (very lengthy, intended primarily for those teaching RLA)
Extended Response Resource Guide-SS (very lengthy, intended primarily for those teaching SS)
Extended Response Answer Guidelines-RLA
Extended Response Answer Guidelines-SS
Performance Level Descriptors Chart
Information on How to Request Student Accomodations

Update: As of March 1st 2016, the new GED passing score for all 4 tests is 145. This score will be retroactive to January 1st 2014. In addition, the Social Studies extended response has been eliminated and the new time for the test is 75 minutes. If you have any questions, you can visit www.gedtestingservice.com for more information.

Common Core Resources

As many of you know, part of the reason why the GED test is undergoing a massive overhaul is due to the ongoing shift in public schools to Common Core State Standards taking place across the country. In order to keep up with these changes, our GED program is going to have to shift to a more standards-driven instructional approach. I know one of our biggest concerns during this transition is going to be lesson planning and finding the time and resources to revamp our curriculum. Luckily, Beth Bowman has offered up a few websites to help us get a head start on this process.

Share My Lesson Common Core Information Center

Share My Lesson is a platform where teachers can exchange lesson plans and ideas. The SML team has dug through over 250,000 user-uploaded and rated resources to pick out the most relevant ones for teaching with the Comon Core. They have a wonderful index for both math and ELA that maps lessons to specific standards. It's all very easy to navigate and can be a great place to find pre-made PowerPoint presentations, activities, video tutorials, etc. It's just a matter of locating what standard you are teaching and downloading the lessons that you like!

LeanZillion Common Core Lesson Plans

This is another website for you to find quality teacher-produced lesson plans aligned to Common Core. It combines videos, assessments, and progress reporting very similar to the Khan Academy (which we all love!). They offer a very user-friendly Common Core Navigator to make finding materials as efficient as possible.

Click here to view a video on LearnZillion that teaches how to compute quotients of fractions in real-world problems. These videos (unlike Khan Academy) have very colorful and vivid images to pair with the math lessons. You can use these videos to brush up on math topics you haven't spent much time with recently, or you can show them as warm-ups to get your lessons started in class!

Sign-In/Out Hourly Calculator

BIG thanks to Darrell Graham for sharing with us this excellent tool he's created for use in your classroom. It's a calculator that will show you the total number of minutes a student was signed into your class. All  you have to do is enter the time in and the time out. This tool can make our lives a lot easier when we're rushing to finish the attendance at the end of the day!

Click here to view the Sign-In/Out Hourly Calculator. Once the new page loads, you will need to click on the down arrow in the top, left corner to download the Excel file.

Education Portal UPDATE

One of my favorite websites to show students and to use in class is www.education-portal.com. This site has hundreds of videos that are designed around college-level courses. They have recently added to their collection courses designed around the GED test!!! Now, we will no longer have to search around through college-level course material to find something appropriate for our students. So far, they have begun "courses" for all five GED subjects, and each course is around 50% complete (except for Reading at 4%). I imagine this will be an even more important tool for all of us when the 2014 GED test rolls out! I highly recommend revisiting this site to see the exciting new GED-related changes. Here are a few links below to get you started.

To my original post on Education Portal:

http://rcccbasicskillspd.blogspot.com/2012/10/education-portal.html

To the GED Reading Course on Education Portal:

http://education-portal.com/academy/course/language-arts-reading.html

(only 4% developed...by far the least of the five subjects...but they are adding more everyday!)

To the GED Writing Course on Education Portal:

http://education-portal.com/academy/course/language-arts-writing.html

(over 42 video lessons!)

To the GED Science Course on Education Portal:

http://education-portal.com/academy/course/ged-science.html

(172 lessons)

To the GED Social Studies Course on Education Portal:

http://education-portal.com/academy/course/ged-social-studies.html

(232 lessons)

To the GED Math Course on Education Portal:

http://education-portal.com/academy/course/ged-math-algebra-geometry-number-sense.html

(mostly higher-level Algebra and Geometry lessons to date)

The Physics Classroom

If you've ever wished for any help teaching a group of students Physics, you may want to check out The Physics Classroom. This website includes tutorials written in easy(ish)-to-understand language and, even better, each section includes graphics and animations that demonstrate physics principles in a visual manner. There is also a "Curriculum Corner" for instructors, which includes worksheets that complement the tutorials in each section. Teaching physics can sometimes be a daunting task for the instructor and the student, and, as such, I highly recommend taking advantage of some of the great resources the internet has to offer. It can make your life a lot easier and your students' a lot more interesting!

Visit www.physicsclassroom.com to check it out!

K12 Reader

K12 Reader is a collection of reading instruction resources for teachers and parents. It includes hundreds of printable .pdf worksheets (with answers included!) in reading instruction (1st-12th grade level), spelling (1st-5th grade), grammar, and writing. The spelling worksheets include a master spelling list, dictation sentences and printable worksheets. Each grade level spelling list also correlates with the reading comprehension passages at that level. In addition, the reading comprehension passages through a middle grade level include cross-curricular instruction in science, math, and social studies. Each reading comprehension selection includes short answer or extended response questions, which allows the student to also practice his/her writing.

This is a great site and, quite frankly, I was actually really suprised that it was free. The worksheets are in an easy-to-find format, and the graphics look great. It's really well done, and I HIGHLY recommend you check it out!

http://www.k12reader.com/

ReadWorks

ReadWorks.org is a website devoted to working with students on reading comprehension. The site has dozens of reading lessons divided into skills and strategies, such as author's purpose, cause and effect, drawing conclusions, fact and opinion, main idea, etc. It has lessons for 1st grade through 4th grade readers. (The 5th and 6th grade units are based on novel sets.) Each lesson includes detailed instructions, vocabulary, and most of the handouts and worksheet needed, as well. You'll have to register a username, email, and password before downloading any materials; however, it's simple and FREE! If you are an ABE instructor looking for some lower-level materials for reading comprehension, this could be a great help!

Visit www.readworks.org to get started!

Thanks to Carlene Bean for sharing this wonderful find!

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress has developed a page with teacher-created, classroom-tested lessons plans using primary sources from the Library of Congress. Some of the topics include, American history, African American history, World War I and II, Civil War, government and law, immigration, science, sports, women's history, and photography. Many of the lessons include hyperlinks to material from the Library of Congress, as well as any worksheets or documents required. Make sure to check this out if you're looking for an engaging lesson to share with your students!

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/#topic110 

Thanks to Beth Bowman for sharing!

Don't forget...if you use a lesson from this site, feel free to share your experience (both positives and negatives) with us in the comments section!