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Grandfathering GED test scores are permanent. A candidate may use up to four passing GED subtests taken between 2002-2013 to count towards earning a NYS High School Equivalency diploma. If the candidate does not pass the TASC subtest, but passed the same GED subtest, the GED score will be accepted as a passing score.

More Skills Review
Need to brush up on skills for the TASC Test? Check out our Skills Review section on FirstFind.org.
March, 2016
TASC Test Topics Review
MATHEMATICS
Area vs. Perimeter
Polygons are flat, closed figures with three or more straight sides. Common polygons are squares, rectangles, parallelograms, and triangles. NOTE: Circles are not polygons. Although circles are flat, they do not have straight lines, they are perfectly round.
 
Perimeter is the distance around the outside of a figure. To find the perimeter, add the measures of all of the sides. The sum is the perimeter. Try these perimeter problems and then check the answers.

While perimeter measures the outside of a figure, area measures its inside.
 
Area is the size of the inside of a figure. To find the area, multiply the length (base) by the width (height). The area of a figure is the number of square units within that figure: square inches (in2), square feet (ft2), square meters (m2), square centimeters (c2).  Try these area problems and then check the answers.

To find the area of a square, we use the same formula used for a rectangle (area = length x width) Since in a square all sides are equal, we can just take the length of one side and multiply it by itself, or A = s2  Find the area of a square in these problems and then check the answers.

To learn more about area and perimeter, watch this video and try some online exercises. 
READING: Critical Reading
Learning how to read critically involves being actively engaged in what you read by developing an understanding of the author's ideas, then questioning and evaluating the arguments and evidence provided to support those arguments. Reading this way requires that you develop skills that aren't necessary for more passive forms reading.

Scan a passage to get an idea of what it is about and what the main argument is. Keep a running dialogue with the author. Develop a clear sense of the author's argument and line of reasoning

The best way to develop critical reading skills is by reading. Try these different reading quizzes to help you develop the critical reading skills you'll need for the TASC Test. Exercises 1  Exercises 2  Exercises 3
WRITING: Wordiness
Wordiness means filling sentences with empty words and phrases that increase the word count but contribute nothing to meaning. Many writers, beginning and experienced, often inflate their sentences with unnecessary words, but strong writing is not complicated or wordy writing. Good writing is tight, concise, and to the point. Inflating your writing with unnecessary words will lead to confusion in your sentences, and lead to a confusing message in your essay. Read on to learn how to tighten your writing and improve your sentences. Practice reducing wordiness: Exercise 1   Exercise 2   Exercise 3

STUDY SKILL
Elaborative Interrogation - Asking Why?
Researchers have found that conceptual questions help students learn--detail questions don't.* With a technique, called elaborative interrogation, learners produce explanations for facts such as Why does it make sense that...? or Why is this true?
In one experiment, for example, students read sentences such as the hungry man got into the car. Participants in an elaborative interrogation group were asked to explain why, whereas others were provided with an explanation, such as the hungry man got into the car to go to the restaurant. A third group simply read each sentence. When asked to recall which man performed what action (Who got in the car?), the elaborative-interrogation group answered about 72 percent correctly, compared with about 37 percent for the others.

Questioning works because it makes you an active learner instead of a passive recipient of information.

*Selective Benefits of Question Self-Generation and Answering for Remembering Expository Text, Julie M. Bugg and Mark A. McDaniel
Journal of Educational Psychology 2012, Vol. 104, No. 4, 922-931 
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