Free study materials for the GED test for an educated adult?

July 8, 2018 4:07 PM

I am looking for online and self study materials for taking the GED in Texas, preferably free, or at least very cheap. Workbooks and videos, and lots of practice tests, suitable for quick review and self study, for an adult who is already halfway done with college.

I had a very good, but very non traditional education in my teens, but I never got either a HS diploma or a GED. This had not been the barrier people seem to expect, and I was able to attend college for 3 years (biochem) by taking an "Ability to Benefit" test upon enrollment.

Today, however, I need a GED to apply for financial aid, so I want to take the test later this week. I looked online and the material seems very easy to me, but I want to review my basic non-calculator math, and maybe some history? (I've read so much Howard Zinn at this point that I'm afraid I'd answer most of my HS level history tests "wrong").

I have looked online for study resources, but most of what I've seen are online prep classes, offered by private for-profit companies, that are aimed at a demographic that never learned this material in the first place, and are of unknown quality.

Can anyone recommend where online I can access materials better suited for someone who just needs a quick refresher? I'd like to find practice tests, with very similar style questions to the test I will be taking, then use them to determine which things I need to study up on. Ideally I would like to find some videos online for anything I need to review. I had assumed I could find this sort of thing on a .gov web site, but either it doesn't exist or I'm somehow missing it in the Google search results.

This is in the state of TX. I am a native English speaker.

Thanks!

posted by ethical_caligula to Education (6 answers total)

Have you already taken the official GED practice tests? Have you looked at their official study materials? Even combined, taking all the tests and looking at all the study guides, that seems fairly inexpensive, about the price of one Barron's review book. I just took the Social Studies section of the mini practice tests on the screen, and these seem like they'd be helpful for giving you a better sense of how the questions are written. If you've already done all the official stuff, perhaps you could tell us more about what you feel you need to feel comfortable? What the official parts didn't give you? And good luck!
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 4:20 PM on July 8, 2018

Response by poster: Have you already taken the official GED practice tests? Have you looked at their official study materials?

The links you provided, to ged.com, are to a private company. It has an "official" look but so do many of the other private companies. It reminds me of DMV.org. The tests and questions are different in each state to the best of my knowledge. I cannot find any reviews of ged.com to determine if that private company is of any quality.

The $24 price is fine if the product actually meets my needs, but I am still surprised that there is nothing free on a .gov or state board of education site.

Thanks for the link though, if I decide to go with a private company, that is one I will consider. :)
posted by ethical_caligula at 4:54 PM on July 8, 2018

Check to see if your public library or college has LearningExpress Library. It has many practice tests, ebooks, tutorials, core skills units, and more for GED and and other common tests. You will probably need a library card to access from home. This a good resource to know because it covers many levels of learning.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 5:01 PM on July 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Have you checked in with your current college for its specific requirement? There are three equivalency exams available in Texas; the GED is the most expensive one.

If any of your high school education took place in an accredited school, is it worth contacting them to see what you could submit to be issued a diploma? Some of your first-year college credits may work for this purpose.

Baptists churches in Texas are offering a free GED prep course, possibly at a location near you. Free resources at some Texas libraries, by no means an exhaustive survey (Texas is HUGE), including test taking, scholarships, online practice.

That GED.com site does have free practice tests, though they're abbreviated; the Austin library links to this page as a GED resource.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:37 PM on July 8, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Sorry, hit post too soon -- some online practice tests.
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:41 PM on July 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Check with the closest regional Education Service Center.
posted by tamitang at 12:53 PM on July 9, 2018 [1 favorite]