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High School Equivalency (HSE) Program

HFM BOCES Adult Education Services offers High School Equivalency preparation classes at our Literacy Zones in Amsterdam and Gloversville for adults age 21 and older. Individuals age 18 through 20 are welcomed into adult class as funding and space allows. Participation in an orientation/screening is required for admission to the program.

The orientation/screening determines if a student will be enrolled in a skills development class or if they have the reading, writing and math skills necessary to prepare for the GED high school equivalency exam.

The HSE testing program is administered by the New York State Department of Education (NYSED). NYSED uses the GED test to assess New Yorkers who have not graduated from high school and want to achieve an equivalency diploma. (Effective January 2014)

The GED test assesses five subject areas including Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. It measures examinees’ level of achievement and readiness for college and the workforce as outlined by the Common Core State Standards.

The GED test preparation class requires a solid foundation in reading, writing, science, social studies and math skills. GED students must recall knowledge, apply knowledge and skills, and use reasoning skills to succeed.

HSE instruction includes:

  • Language Arts, Reading: Analysis of text in nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and drama; comprehension; critical thinking; inference; central idea; objective summary of the text; comparison and contrast; analysis of complex set of ideas or events; instruction is sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level
  • Language Arts, Writing: Punctuation; capitalization; spelling; sentence structure; grammar; organized thought; ability to argue a point with detail; instruction emphasizes Common Core State Standards for writing
  • Math: The Real Number System; Number and Quantity: Statistics and Probability; Algebra; Geometry; Graphing; Functions; Trigonometric Functions
  • Social Studies: Critical Thinking; Graphic Literacy; U.S. History; World History; Civics and Government; and Economics
  • Science: Critical Thinking; Graphic Literacy; Physical Sciences; Life Sciences; and Earth and Space Sciences
  • Topics on health, personal finance and civic participation
  • Test-Taking Skills
  • HSE Readiness Assessment

HSE Exam Benchmarks:

HSE students enrolled with HFM BOCES Office of Adult Literacy must achieve the following benchmarks before they are referred to an HSE exam:

  • Student has completed all registration requirements and assessments.
  • Student has attended at least 20 hours of programming.
  • Student has demonstrated reading and math skills at NRS level 6 (TABE scores at the 11th/12th grade level) in both areas.
  • Student has demonstrated readiness to pass the GED test by taking the GED Test Readiness Assessment provided by HFM BOCES.
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