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Language Arts, Reading
The GED Language Arts, Reading Test is a passage-based,
multiple-choice test that measures a candidate’s ability to
comprehend and interpret workplace and academic reading selections and
to apply those interpretations to new contexts.
Content
The content of the GED Language Arts, Reading Test reflects the
variety of texts that a high school student would encounter. On each
test, 75 percent of the passages are literary texts, and 25 percent are
nonfiction texts. Texts and authors that could be expected to appear on
a high school examination or be used for a critical review in a high
school classroom appear on the GED Language Arts, Reading Test. Sources
for the literary text of the GED Language Arts, Reading Test reflect a
commitment to quality writing from writers of recognized stature.
Content Type
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Content Areas
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| Literary Text
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75 percent |
At least one selection from each of the following:
- Poetry.
- Drama.
- Prose fiction before 1920.
- Prose fiction between 1920 and 1960.
- Prose fiction after 1960.
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| Nonfiction
Text |
25
percent |
Two selections from two of the three following
areas on a rotating basis:
- Nonfiction prose.
- Critical review of visual and performing arts.
- Workplace and community documents, such as mission and goal
statements, rules for employee behavior, legal documents, letters and
other communications, and excerpts from manuals.
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Context
The subject matter chosen for the GED Language Arts, Reading Test
reflects the multicultural backgrounds and diverse age groups of the GED
candidates. Texts are examined carefully to ensure that no particular
group is presented in a discriminatory manner. However, texts are also
chosen to reflect the variety of experiences of the general population
without giving undue attention to any particular group’s
experiences.
Each test is constructed with this diversity in mind so that no one
candidate feels excluded or advantaged by the set of texts within any
given reading test.
Format
The selections in the GED Language Arts, Reading Test are coherent
excerpts of works with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Excerpts range
from 200 to 400 words, with poetry running from eight to 25 lines. Each
selection is followed by four to eight questions that test reading
comprehension on several cognitive levels.
Each selection is preceded by a purpose question. This question is
designed to focus the candidate and provide a purpose for reading the
text. In such an unnatural reading situation as a comprehension test,
the focus question efficiently provides the candidate with an
orientation to the text that in a natural setting would spring from the
reader’s ability to survey a selection before reading.
Cognitive Levels
The multiple-choice questions on the GED Language Arts, Reading Test are constructed on
four of the cognitive levels based on Bloom’s
taxonomy.1 Higher cognitive levels receive more emphasis,
as would be expected in high school instruction:
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Comprehension: 20 percent.
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Application: 15 percent.
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Analysis: 30 percent to 35 percent.
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Synthesis: 30 percent to 35 percent.
Comprehension
Comprehension questions (20 percent) measure the candidate’s
ability to extract basic meaning and the intent of the writing. This
question type can refer to specific parts of the text or to the text as
a whole.
Comprehension questions measure the ability to:
Application
Application questions (15 percent) measure the candidate’s ability
to use information and ideas from a text in a situation different from
that described. This type of question measures the ability to transfer
concepts and principles from the reading text to a new context.
Analysis
Analysis questions (30 percent to 35 percent) measure the
candidate’s ability to break down information into basic elements
and can require multiple or complex references. Analysis questions
generally refer to specific parts of a passage.
Analysis questions measure the candidate’s ability to:
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Draw conclusions, understand consequences, and make inferences.
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Identify elements of style and structure (by concept, not by literary
term) and identify the use of different techniques, e.g., tone, word
usage, characterization, use of detail and example, and figurative
language.
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Identify cause and effect relationships.
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Distinguish conclusions from supporting statements and recognize
unstated assumptions.
Synthesis
Synthesis questions (30 percent to 35 percent) measure the
candidate’s ability to put elements together to form a whole.
Synthesis questions require multiple inferences that draw on many parts
of the text. Although synthesis often implies the integration of
information from multiple sources into a new whole, synthesis, for the
purpose of the GED Language Arts, Reading Test, also refers to
integrating information from many parts of a single selection.
Synthesis questions measure the candidate’s ability to:
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Interpret the organizational structure or pattern of a text.
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Interpret the overall tone, point of view, style, or purpose of a
work.
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Make connections among parts of the text.
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Compare and contrast.
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Integrate information from outside the passage with elements within
the passage.
The last synthesis skill listed above appears on the test as a
multiple-choice question in which additional information about the text
or author is given in the text of the question. The question then asks
the candidate to synthesize this new information with information
obtained from the selection itself to form a new understanding of the
text. For example, a reading selection may be provided from a piece of
fiction, such as a Chekhov short story. A synthesis question of the last
type might include in the question a quote from the author about the
human struggle. The question then might ask the candidate to identify an
element in the reading passage that illustrates the author’s
stated philosophy.
1 Bloom, B. S., et al., Taxonomy of
Educational Objectives Handbook I: Cognitive Domain (New York: David
McKay, 1956). (return to text)
Please direct questions about this page to:
ged@ace.nche.edu
This page last updated on 11/19/2008
| GED Tests, Language Arts Reading |
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