Overview of the GED® Language Arts-Reading Test
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.
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The test consists of 40 multiple choice questions.
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Candidates have 65 minutes to complete the test.
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75% of the passages are literary texts, and 25% are nonfiction texts.
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The test includes 3 prose fiction selections of 200 to 400 words. These selections
are excerpts from novels or short stories. There will be one selection written before 1920, one between 1920 – 1960, and one written after 1960.
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There will be one 8 to 25 line selection of poetry on the test. It may be an excerpt or complete poem.
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There will be one drama selection of 200 – 400 words.
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Each test is constructed with diversity in mind so that no one candidate feels excluded or advantaged by the set of texts within any one given reading test.
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Each selection is followed by 4 to 8 questions that test reading comprehension
on several cognitive levels.
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The types of questions include:
Comprehension: 20%
Application: 15%
Analysis: 30 to 35%
Synthesis: 30 to 35%
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Each selection is preceded by a purpose question.
The purpose question is designed to focus the candidate and provide a
purpose for reading the text.
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The GED® Language Arts-Reading Test Content
The context of the GED Language Arts-Reading Test reflects the variety of texts that a
high school student would encounter:
Literary Text (75%)
• Poetry
• Drama
• Prose fiction before 1920
• Prose fiction between 1920 and 1960
• Prose fiction after 1960
Nonfiction Text (25%)
• 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.
Types of Questions on the GED Language Arts-Reading Test
Critical Thinking Skills
The multiple choice questions on the GED Language Arts-Reading Test are constructed on four of the cognitive levels based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Comprehension(20%)
Comprehension questions 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.
Application(15%)
Application questions 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(30to35%)
Analysis questions 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.
Synthesis(30to35%)
Synthesis questions 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.
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GED® Language Arts – Reading Test Curriculum
The student will demonstrate and apply reading comprehension and critical thinking
skills using various reading selections including fiction and nonfiction prose, poetry,
drama, workplace or community documents.
1. The student will apply comprehension skills to a variety of prose, poetry, drama,
workplace, and community documents. Comprehension skills include:
• Restate information
• Summarize main ideas
• Identify the theme of a selection
• Explain the implications of the text
2. The student will apply application skills to a variety of prose, poetry, drama,
workplace, and community documents.
Application skills include:
• Use information and ideas in the text in a new context or situation
• Take information that you read and transfer it to a new situation
3. The student will apply analysis skills to a variety of prose, poetry, drama, workplace, and community documents.
Analysis skills include:
• Distinguish conclusions from supporting statements
• Recognize unstated assumptions
• Identify cause and effect relationships
• Draw conclusions
• Make inferences
• Identify style (the way a writer writes) and tone (the writer’s attitude)
• Recognize an author’s viewpoint
• Identify an author’s use of different techniques such as characterization
and figurative language
4. The student will apply evaluation skills to a variety of prose, poetry, drama,
workplace, and community documents.
Evaluation skills include:
• Interpret the overall tone, point of view, style, or purpose of a work
• Make connections among parts of a text
• Integrate information from outside the passage with elements within the
passage
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5. The student will demonstrate an understanding of figurative language (words
used to create vivid images) as an aide to comprehension.
• Simile (a comparison between two people, places, or things signaled by
words such as “like” or “as”). For example, when Robert Burns wrote, “O
my Love’s ‘like’ a red, red rose,” he provided an excellent example of a
simile because he uses the word “like.” This is the first clue you look for in
your detective hunt for the difference between a simple simile and a
metaphor. Another easy example: “She was out ‘like’ a light.”
• Metaphor (a direct comparison that states one thing is another). A metaphor is used to describe somebody or something with a word or a phrase
that is not meant literally but expresses something about him by means of
a vivid comparison. For example: “It’s raining cats and dogs” or “table
leg” or “old flame.”
• Symbol (a person, place or thing that stands for a larger idea). The obvious example is a flag, which symbolizes a nation. Uncle Sam is a symbol
for the United States. In literature, a symbol is expected to have significance. Keats starts his ode with a real nightingale, but quickly it becomes
a symbol, standing for a life of pure, unmixed joy, then before the end of
the poem it becomes a bird again.
• Personification (language that gives human qualities to non-human objects). For example: “The daffodils nodded their yellow heads at the
walkers.” Another simple example: “The car engine coughed and sputtered when it started during the blizzard.”
6. The student will demonstrate an understanding of poetry.
• Identify the effects of rhythm and rhyme
Rhythm and rhyme create an echo effect that adds to the poem’s mood.
For example:
It was many and many a year ago
In a kingdom by the sea
That a Maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
The above example follows the basic rhythmic pattern: stressed/unstressed,
stressed/ unstressed. Repetition, rhyme, rhythm, and imagery help reinforce
reading and literary skills in poetry.
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Interpret symbols and images
For example: In “The Pasture”, a poem by New England’s Pulitzer Prize
poet Robert Frost, the poet has reproduced both people and scenery
with a vividness that is extraordinary. The sight images in the poem—
water clearing in a spring, a young calf being licked by its mother—are
appealing, helping the reader to understand the speaker’s pleasure in his
daily tasks.
The Pasture
I’m going out to fetch the little calf
That’s standing by the mother. It’s so young
It totters when she licks it with her tongue.
I sha’n’t be gone long. --You come too.
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Make inferences about what the poem is about
The word “inference” means: a guess that leads us to a conclusion. To
prepare yourself for this analysis of the poem, you should ask yourself the
following simple questions: “What is the poem saying to me?” and “What
is the poet trying to say?” You then have the ability to reflect on the
meaning of the poem and draw your own conclusion. After you have retrieved all the information the poet has given you – retrieved through the
examination of literary poetic techniques such as repetition, alliteration,
imagery, similes, form, and narrative voice, to mention only a few – you
will then be able to draw a vivid picture in your mind of what a reader
can infer from the poem and to capture more of the poet’s intent.
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Interpret the theme or central idea of a poem
The verb “to interpret” means: to explain the meaning of or to act as an
interpreter. To prepare yourself for the analysis of the poem, you should
once again ask yourself “What is the poem saying to me?” and “What is
the poet trying to say?” After reading the poem several times and then reflecting on the structure, imagery, and style, you will then be able to interpret the theme or central idea of the poem quite easily. The basic key in
interpreting a poem is to read the poem carefully several times – paying
particularly close attention to rhythm and rhyme, symbols and images,
structure and style – and this will help you grasp the central idea of the
poem.
7. The student will demonstrate an understanding of drama.
• Understand the elements of plot including conflict, climax and falling action
• Infer character (understand the people in a play)
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Interpret theme (the most important point a playwright is trying to make)
Understand stage directions (found in parenthesis or brackets describing
character’s motions or tone of voice)as separate from dialogue (the actual words that the character speaks)
Teaching Recommendations for Language Arts Reading
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Provide daily opportunities for students to read. (DEAR: Drop Everything and Read)
For drama unit – select a script from a real play and have your class do an oral
dramatic reading.
Whenever possible use a complete work instead of excerpts, e.g. poems, short
stories, plays.
Remind your students to look at the bolded purpose question before reading
the selection. This question will help candidates identify a purpose and focus for
their reading.
Teach students to use the context of the surrounding words and sentences to
understand the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Teach students to use line reference numbers and to read the line before and
after. Encourage students to keep going back to the text, not to rely solely on
memory.
Remind your students to read the questions carefully to determine what exactly
is being asked. An answer choice may be a true statement, but it may not answer the particular question that is asked.
Use editorials and book, movie, and play reviews from the newspaper to teach
fact vs. opinion.
Provide practice interpreting the tone of different genre.
Provide activities for students to learn to distinguish between figurative and literal
language.
Model several test-taking strategies and encourage students to select the strategy that works best for them. Some students prefer to read the questions before
the text; whereas, this method is confusing for other students.
Practice reading poetry orally with students.
Stress that all of the text must be carefully and thoroughly read.
Recommend that your students read the entire selection before answering any
of the questions because most of the questions assume an overall understanding of the text.
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GED® Reading Locator Test
A GED Language Arts- Reading Locator Test and an Answer Key are available to print
and photocopy (for classroom use) at LiteracyLink. The answer key includes the critical
thinking skill needed to correctly answer each question.
Go to www.LitLink.org
• Click on Teach
• Click on Resources
• Click on Locator Tests
• Choose Tests or Guidelines for answer key
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Recommended Websites for Language Arts-Reading
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rayser3/index.htm
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Outta Rays’ Head -- A retired English teacher shares his (and many other teachers) lessons plans for all aspects of literature. For instance,
http://home.cogeco.ca/~rayser3/poetry.htm is Rays’ Poetry page with many,
many links and lessons.
http://litplans.com
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Literature Lesson Plans, teacher's guides, study guides, and much more for middle school and high school English teachers. There are currently more than
30,000 listings in this directory.
http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAJH.htm
• This site is full of good lesson plans for teaching literature (as well as other language arts topics.) For instance, two lessons from the site are listed below:
1. http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LAIntrotoStageDirections612.htm
Lesson plan: Introduction to Stage Directions. This activity is intended to introduce
the concept of stage directions and how they are used for the actor and director
2. http://www.lessonplanspage.com/LACreativeWayToComprehendElementsOfShortStory
48.htm
Title - A creative way to comprehend the elements of short story
http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edadolescentlit.htm
• Portal to lots of literature lesson plans and websites
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/poetrygeneral.html
• This page features lesson plans and activities for teaching specific types of poetry or poetry in general. Sites and Activities for Specific Poets and Collections of
Poetry are also available.
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GED® TEST PRACTICE WEBSITES
www.gedpractice.com
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Steck-Vaughn’s free GED practice site
Tests are broken down into sub-topics
Excellent charts, graphs, and maps
Correct answers are given and explained
Simple registration required
http://litlink.ket.org
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Must register and log onto GED Connection (How to get started)
Test information and tips, learning modules, Internet activities, and practice tests
with answers and explanations are available for each GED subject
Includes a Learner Resources link that provides an atlas, dictionary, thesaurus,
calculator, and writing guide
www.mhcontemporary.com
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This site has a new GED Satellites Internet-based Supplemental Study Center
Interactive flashcards, chapter review quizzes, practice GED questions are
available for each GED subject
An instructor Center provides tips and resources for teachers
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