The Official Guide to the HiSET® Exam

I have been teaching GED students in various settings for almost 20 years. Most of my students were successful in achieving their GED Diploma, even as the test has changed somewhat over the past 2 decades. Since Missouri switched to the HiSet test, I have been frustrated by the lack of preparation materials available that actually address the kinds of material covered in the HiSet Test, especially in Math. I have deep concerns about using this test as a college readiness test - I think it ignores a huge population of people who would benefit from a basic credential that shows them to be competent as employees and citizens, even if they never go to college. But that is an issue for the education planners of the state to address. I purchased 3 of the Official Guides recently and looked forward to great material to use with my students. The book is badly edited - I have found numerous mistakes and discrepancies. I was disappointed that most of the readings seem to come from early 20th century texts (possibly to avoid copyright issues) and not the contemporary texts that show up on the practice tests that ETS publishes on their website. The Math pre-test is difficult, and covers higher level math concepts and skills, that many high school graduates do not cover, unless they are in AP or honors classes. In comparison, the Math post-tests at the end of the book are similar in construction and content to the current GED math test - relatively easy - and nothing like the tests found on the ETS website. There seems to be a disconnect between the material covered in the Math section of the book and the post-test. I was disappointed that a credible and prestigious testing organization as ETS purports to be, could present such a shoddy product for educators. I will certainly not be wasting any more time and money on the ETS HiSet products, until I can see that they are taking their responsibilities educators and students more seriously. Look elsewhere for prep materials.

I am using this book to tutor three young adults for the HISET. Parts of the book are well done, and other portions offer almost no real help. The math section is good. There are clearly written explanations of the topics that will be covered. The practice questions look well written. I haven't worked in the English section as much yet. What I have looked at seemed well written and sufficient to help someone understand how to answer the questions. I am VERY disappointed in the Social Studies and Science sections. Each subsection has a list of terms, people, ideas, periods that students should know and 15 practice questions. Those lists are sometimes 2-3 pages long. I have spent hours preparing basic information for each word on the lists. Maybe it would benefit the students to do this research themselves, but why did the book provide the information for English and math, but not for the other subjects. If math is your weakness, and you have access to a computer, this would be a good study tool. If you are a poor reader, or don't have the patience or ability to research a wide variety of topics, good luck. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything designed for tutoring the HISET that is better in these subjects. At least it does tell you what you should research.

I purchased this book to help me prepare for the HiSet. I purchased it after already passing the Reading,Writing, Social Studies I used it briefly for the scienceM all of which I passed...... My main reason on wanting this book was to help me on the MATH portion of the HiSet. Although it did help me "brush up" on things that I hadn't done for 30 years, the majority of the practice questions were not close to what was on the actual test.I've read the other reviews, some from instructors (jimbo) and I agree with everything they say I strongly disagree that it is the most reliable and accurate guide to the test. Not even the questions that are on the interactive practice test were very similar to what I found on the actual exam..Would I purchase again? Most likely, because it can still help you get "the basics", and all math problems will help you "learn", but I feel what helped me pass more then anything was youtube video's.

I pre-ordered this book months ago knowing it would have a 2015 copyright. I assumed that the book would cover how to prepare for the new version of the HiSET which was introduced in January 2015. (I am a private tutor who specializes in test prep.) The difference between the 2014 and 2015 HiSET tests are the types of questions: rather than all multiple choice on the Science, Social Studies, and Reading tests, some of the questions are now completions and short essays. But in this book all the questions on the practice tests provided and within the chapters are multiple-choice.I am so disappointed in ETS because they haven't provided suitable books for the new HiSET test. I have been to the HiSET.ETS.org web site and downloaded the practice tests and bought the ones available, but my students tell me that none of those tests were like the real ones they took.Jane

It's a really good book, it covers every topic and explains everything step by step. The book also comes with 1 test to sort of evaluate where you are and what areas you already know and what areas you need to improve in, it has the test awnsers to evaluate yourself at the end. The book also comes with 2 full example tests so you can practice before the real one. There are also awnser pages at the end of each test so you can check to see if you passed the practice tests.