HiSET Reading study guide
HiSET Reading · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The HiSET® program is a route to a high school equivalency (HSE) credential - a way for adults who did not finish high school to show they have the knowledge and skills of a high school graduate. The official HiSET site describes itself as the gateway to that credential and stresses that, wherever you are in life, it is never too late to earn your high school diploma. HiSET is aimed at adult learners who want to move ahead in a career or in further education, and it is offered through participating states, each of which sets its own requirements and fees. Getting started is mostly an administrative process. The HiSET Reading study guide has 5 sections and about 1,285 words.
01Language Arts – Reading
Reading questions on this exam reward close attention to the passage, not to what you already know. You need to find main ideas and supporting details, make inferences, identify an author's purpose and tone, interpret vocabulary in context, and recognize how a text is organized (compare/contrast, cause/effect, chronology, problem/solution).
270 words, about 1 min02Language Arts – Writing
Writing questions test standard English conventions and clear organization. Know sentence boundaries, subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference and case, verb tense consistency, parallel structure, and modifier placement.
247 words, about 1 min03Mathematics
The math section covers arithmetic with fractions, decimals, and percents; ratios and proportions; order of operations; exponents; algebraic expressions and equations; inequalities; linear functions and slope; systems of equations; geometry (perimeter, area, volume, angles, Pythagorean theorem); coordinate geometry; statistics (mean, median, mode, range); probability; and unit conversion. Most problems are one or two steps, so accuracy with signs and units matters more than speed.
246 words, about 1 min04Science
Science questions emphasize how science works as much as facts. Understand hypotheses, variables, control groups, and experimental design.
271 words, about 1 min05Social Studies
Social studies questions combine content knowledge with source analysis. history from colonization through the modern era, world history, civics and government, economics, and geography.
251 words, about 1 min