Prepare your students to expect the unexpected at their GED® tests. Sometimes the unexpected happens on the day of a student’s GED Test® or even at the exam itself. These unforeseen events can rattle a person and even derail the student’s confidence, but if you have discussed some of the potential variations of what should be normal, you can help them to take it in their stride.
Loadshedding or Power Cuts
It’s stressful to get to an exam and find it delayed, for example, because of loadshedding, or interrupted because of a power cut.
These things are beyond our control, but we need to be mentally prepared so that they don’t “rattle” us and stress us out if they happen.
Usually if loadshedding or a power cut is expected, the test centre will contact you to reschedule your exam in advance. If however, you arrive on the day and there is an unplanned problem, you can ask to reschedule the test. If there is a power cut during the test, you need to make arrangements to be able to take the test again. Instances when this has happened have been very few and in all of them, the GED Testing Service® has been most accommodating of students.
You don’t need to stress that they are going to do you in. Don’t get angry or panic. Just stay calm, be polite with the staff at the test centre, get all the information you can and if necessary you can contact the GED Testing Service® in the USA if there is a problem that can’t be resolved at a local level.
The information below is from the GED head-office in Johannesburg:
If your GED test is cancelled or interrupted due to load-shedding, please don’t worry, the GED has a process in place.
- The testing centre will log a case with Pearson VUE.
- You, as the student, will then be emailed with an incident/case number.
- After you receive this number, please contact the call centre to reschedule your GED test for free. The call centre can be reached by phone on +27 (0) 11-083-8844.
As GED Africa, we understand that this is an extremely frustrating and unsettling time for many South African students. Therefore, if you experience any issues trying to reschedule your test, please email our SUPPORT desk, including your incident/case number and your student number and we will try and assist you.
Unexpected Topics in the Exam
The GED® does not test memorisation skills or knowledge of prescribed content as traditional exams do. Instead it tests reading comprehension and critical thinking skills – the ability to use the information given to figure out the correct answer from the multiple choice options provided.
Many people don’t realise that it is therefore quite normal to encounter new topics on the GED tests – topics that have not been covered in the GED prep material. For example Mrs A. wrote:
“I remember when my son wrote Science in 2018, he was surprised as they asked about one of the “systems” which the GED didn’t cover… luckily he knew the answer, I think it was the respiratory system and his friend on an earlier exam was asked about another system…my daughter hasn’t covered this in her GED prep… Is there anything like that?”
This is normal. Yes! Prepare your students for the possibility of questions on topics that are new to them in each subject. They shouldn’t let this undermine their confidence or think that they are unprepared or under-prepared for their GED Test®. If they have completed the Online GED Prep™ and achieved high scores on the practice tests, they should have developed all the skills they need to succeed!
Prepare them for that scenario…They might do practice lessons about the liver, for example in the Science course (random example), but in the exams there might be a diagram or text about the pancreas! The student should have developed the SKILLS to reason and think about the information that is given on the topic and then use what is provided (in the text, diagram, graph, map or chart) to find, figure out or even calculate the correct answer.
They mustn’t feel stressed, flustered or think that they didn’t study hard enough, if that happens. Encourage them to stay calm, reread the question and then examine whatever information is given to find the answer.
With every question, there is only one correct answer and it is provided in the multi-choice. All they need to do is read carefully, use their reasoning and thinking skills and then select the correct answer.
The Standardised GED Test® is Reliable
On the odd occasion when students don’t do well on the tests, they often blame the test. They tell their parents or tutors that there were questions that they didn’t know because it wasn’t on the study programme. As you can tell from the information above, this is not an acceptable excuse.
They might have not managed their time well. They might have misread or misunderstood a question or they might not have prepared well and they simply lacked the skills to select the correct answers from the multiple choice options.
The GED® is a standardised test and the same battery of tests has been in use since 2014. It is marked by computer so there is no chance of human error. The test is very “reliable” and secure. It does not change from year to year. If a student didn’t score well, it’s because of his or her poor performance and skills, not the TEST and not the STUDY PROGRAMME. As you can see from our many happy customer reviews, the study programme works!
It is possible to pay for a remark, but considering that the tests are multiple-choice and marked by a computer programme, there is little chance that the test score will change.
Instead, we recommend studying again and retaking the test in a few weeks time. The lesson in perseverance is well worth it.
As the saying goes, “Winners never quit and quitters never win!”
Perseverance in the face of challenges is a valuable life lesson. Sometimes we’d prefer the comfort of everything going smoothly, rather than these hard lessons, but they build character. Expect the unexpected at your GED Test and you might be pleasantly surprised when it all goes off uneventfully!