Getting ready for the GED is an exciting experience. You have a goal, you’ve got your study materials, and you tell yourself, “Well, this is the time I’m going to do it.” The first couple of days are fine. You practice some questions, see a couple of video lessons, and you feel like you’re on the right track. Then you’ll notice that students quit GED exam as they fear the challenges that lie ahead.
Then life happens.
Work gets busy. Family needs you. The topics become more difficult. Your bad practice score stings harder than you thought. Then, from week 2 to week 4, the study sessions get shorter and shorter, then they get fewer and fewer, and they stop entirely. Sound familiar? You are not alone. Studies have been conducted over the years that have found that most students who start preparing for the GED do not finish — and most of them drop out before they should.
Here is an honest look at why most students quit GED exam and exactly what you can do to make sure you are not one of them.
The GED Feels Overwhelming Before You Even Start
Students often students quit GED exam without taking the test before they get very far along because from the outset, they feel overwhelmed by the challenges of the exam. There are four subjects: Mathematical Reasoning, Reasoning through Language Arts, Reasoning through Science, and Reasoning through Social Studies. Hundreds of possibilities for topics. A lot of material to be covered. A test score that means something to your academic and professional life.
How to avoid it: Don’t look at GED as a big mountain; look at it as a series of little mountains, one a week. In your first week, take a full test — not to pass it, but to find out just which areas are your weaknesses and which types of questions. Apply that information to create a targeted study plan that will focus on the areas that are most lacking rather than studying everything equally. A specific plan with a focus on your weak areas is 10 times more effective than a generic plan of all four subjects.
A Bad Practice Score Kills Motivation Faster Than Anything Else
There’s nothing worse than taking a practice test, getting a score that is much lower than you expected, and thinking that it means you don’t have a chance of passing. Bad practice scores are stressful — particularly for students who are feeling the pressure of past experiences and who have already struggled with school. The GED success formula is implementing good ideas in your routine.
How to avoid it: Present all practice scores as data, not as judgments. If you have a low score in the Science section, don’t worry; just because other students quit GED exam, doesn’t mean you have to as well. It means you know what topics in Science to study for the next two weeks. Be aware of your scores over time, not just one score. If a student is able to remain with a structured preparation, most will experience measurable progress within three to four weeks, and that is one of the most effective motivators.
Life Simply Gets in the Way — And Students Do Not Have a Plan for That
GED students are not the typical full-time college student with a lot of free time to study. The majority are busy adults, parents, caregivers, or individuals with multiple responsibilities. Oftentimes, when students feel too much pressure, students quit GED exam. Then after a few days, a few weeks, the concept of picking up again becomes more and more diffused until it finally ceases to seem like a possibility.
How to avoid it: Create a study plan based on living life, not the life you imagine to be perfect. 15 to 20 minutes of daily study will have a greater impact over time than two hours of study when all is right with the world. Find those specific times in your actual week. Also, if things are worse, try adding professional assistance to your routine; you can even take GED RLA help if you have the right online platform.
The Mathematics Section Stops Students Cold
The Math section is the main reason students quit GED exam. For many adults, the last time they did formal mathematics was a number of years or decades ago. The GED Mathematical Reasoning section includes topics from basic arithmetic through algebraic reasoning and data analysis — and for those who haven’t been in school for a long time, that’s a lot to catch up on.
How to avoid it: Start preparing for mathematics earlier than any other subject and begin preparing earlier than you think you should. Even if basic, don’t skip it! The more difficult parts become much easier if the base is correctly constructed. Solve timed practice questions on a regular basis as the time pressure in the Mathematics section comes as a surprise to many students despite their knowledge of the content.
The Students Who Pass Are Not the Smartest — They Are the Most Consistent
All GED instructors, preparers, and test-takers agree on the students who pass the GED: they are not the smartest students who take the preparation course. It was they who continued to show up. The ones who weren’t doing well in practice weeks but returned anyway. The ones who managed to squeeze in 15 minutes of study when 2 hours just wasn’t possible.
If you have previously taken a break from GED preparation — resume. If you’re currently struggling to be consistent, you can easily search for a reliable platform and say, ‘take my GED for me’ for better results. However, when the preparation process is starting to feel like too much work, you may want to reach out to academic experts for professional help to get ahead with confidence.
