HiSET Math study guide
HiSET Math · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The HiSET® program is a pathway to a high school equivalency (HSE) credential, offered as an alternative to a traditional high school diploma for adults who did not finish high school. The official site describes HiSET as "your gateway to earning a high school equivalency (HSE) credential," and stresses that "wherever you are in life, it's never too late to earn your high school diploma." The Mathematics subtest is one of the subject tests in the battery; it is a multiple-choice test organized around four content domains - Numbers and Operations on Numbers, Measurement/Geometry, Data Analysis/Probability/Statistics, and Algebraic Concepts - each weighted at roughly a quarter of the test. The HiSET Math study guide has 4 sections and about 1,142 words.
01Numbers and Operations on Numbers
This domain covers the arithmetic that everything else rests on: place value, the four operations with whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percents, signed numbers, exponents, square roots, scientific notation, ratios, proportions, and order of operations. You should be able to move a value between fraction, decimal, and percent form without hesitation, and you should be comfortable estimating before you compute.
305 words, about 2 min02Measurement and Geometry
Expect questions on perimeter, area, surface area, volume, angle relationships, the Pythagorean theorem, similar figures, coordinate geometry, and unit conversion. Know the formulas for rectangles, triangles, circles, and rectangular solids, and know that the sum of angles in a triangle is 180° and in a quadrilateral 360°.
297 words, about 1 min03Data Analysis, Probability, and Statistics
This domain asks you to read tables, bar graphs, line graphs, circle graphs, and scatterplots, and to compute and interpret mean, median, mode, range, and simple probability. You should also recognize trends, make predictions from data, and understand that correlation does not prove causation.
271 words, about 1 min04Algebraic Concepts
Algebra questions test translating words into expressions, simplifying expressions, solving linear equations and inequalities, working with formulas, graphing lines, and interpreting slope and intercepts. You should be able to solve a two-step equation, isolate any variable in a formula, and read a linear pattern from a table or description.
269 words, about 1 min