TABE study guide
TABE · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
TABE is a family of adult basic and secondary education assessments published by Data Recognition Corporation (DRC). It is an assessment system, not a license or certificate: adult education programs, workforce agencies, and employers use it to place learners at the right instructional level, measure skill gains, and - according to the publisher - support decisions about hiring, training, and employee advancement. The core subject areas are Reading, Mathematics, and Language. TABE 13&14 is built around College and Career Readiness (CCR) requirements and reports performance from the most basic skill levels through college-level work. Topics on this exam: Reading, Mathematics, and Language. The TABE study guide has 3 sections and about 925 words.
01Reading: Finding the Point and Proving It
TABE Reading asks you to understand both literary and informational passages. Expect items on main idea and theme, supporting details, sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast, vocabulary in context, author's purpose and tone, text structure, and drawing conclusions. Some questions ask you to separate fact from opinion or to judge whether evidence actually supports a claim. Items usually fall into three families: key ideas and details, craft and structure, and integration of knowledge.
332 words, about 2 min02Mathematics: Estimate, Label, Then Solve
The test spans four strands. Number and quantity includes fractions, decimals, percents, integers, order of operations, exponents, ratios, proportions, and rates. Algebra includes evaluating and simplifying expressions, solving linear equations and inequalities, and interpreting slope and graphs. Geometry and measurement includes perimeter, area, volume, angle relationships, similar figures, the Pythagorean theorem, and unit conversion.
297 words, about 1 min03Language: Conventions and Clear Revision
Two clusters dominate: conventions of standard English and effective writing. Conventions include sentence completeness (fragments, run-ons, comma splices), subject-verb agreement across interrupting phrases, pronoun case and agreement, consistent verb tense, punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons, apostrophes, quotation marks), capitalization, modifier placement, parallelism, and commonly confused words such as its/it's, their/there, and affect/effect. Writing items ask about topic sentences, transitions, paragraph unity and order, and revising sentences to remove vagueness or repetition. Apostrophes used for plurals instead of possession, or confusion between its and it's.
296 words, about 1 min