HiSET study guide
HiSET · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The HiSET® program is a high school equivalency (HSE) pathway: passing the HiSET exam gives an adult who left high school without a diploma a credential they can use for college admissions, job requirements, and training programs. The program is administered by PSI, which operates the official hiset.org website and myHiSET account system. The HiSET study guide has 5 sections and about 1,489 words.
01Language Arts – Reading: Main Idea, Inference, and Author's Craft
The reading section asks you to show that you understand a passage, not that you already know the topic. The core skills are: identifying the main idea versus supporting details; making inferences that the text actually supports; recognizing author's purpose (inform, persuade, entertain, explain) and tone (the author's attitude, which is not the same as the topic); analyzing text structure (cause and effect, comparison, chronological order, problem–solution); figuring out vocabulary in context ; and comparing two passages on the same subject.
344 words, about 2 min02Language Arts – Writing: Sentence Control, Conventions, and Revision
The writing section combines editing (fixing sentences) with revision (improving paragraphs and essays). You need to command: Sentence completeness : recognizing fragments and run-ons, including comma splices.
310 words, about 2 min03Mathematics: Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, and Data
The math section is mostly practical: fractions, decimals, and percents ; ratios and proportions ; order of operations ; signed numbers and exponents ; solving linear equations and inequalities ; geometry (perimeter, area, volume, angles, the Pythagorean relationship); coordinate geometry (slope, intercepts); and data and probability (mean, median, mode, range, simple probability, reading tables and graphs). "15% of 80" is multiplication (12).
266 words, about 1 min04Science: Method, Data, and Core Concepts
Science questions blend process skills with content . Process skills include identifying variables, reading graphs and tables, distinguishing observations from inferences, and judging whether a conclusion follows from data.
297 words, about 1 min05Social Studies: Civics, History, Geography, and Economics
Social studies asks you to read documents and interpret maps, charts, and political cartoons. Core content includes U.S.
272 words, about 1 min