As most ABE practitioners know, the GED Testing Service rolls out its latest version of the new test in January of 2002. The last version of the test was famous for one very major change: the addition of the essay. The newest form has its own drama: the use of the scientific calculator. But that's not the whole math story, and it might be useful for GED practitioners to see the broader climate change in both math testing and instruction. This shift is not only profiled in the GED test but also in another developing document, the ABE Mathematics Curriculum Frameworks.

Basic Test Facts
First, some basic facts about the 2002 math test itself. According to press announcements from the GED Testing Service, here's some of what's new:

• Increased emphasis on graphic stimuli.
• More attention to data analysis, statistics, and probability.
• A two-part test, equally weighted; one part will allow use of a scientific calculator, one part will not.

Calculators
The general rationale for the use of the calculator is that graduating high school seniors are expected to have experience with it, and employers count on competence in that area. Obviously, what this means for us as instructors is that we, too, must upgrade or even develop our own scientific calculator skills.

Beyond the teaching and learning implications of the calculator in our classrooms, other changes are in the wind. Test questions will be "reality-based," with emphasis placed on natural mathematical tasks rather than purely academic problems. The context of math questions will involve more situations found in the world of work, consumer issues, and the family. The use of more than one math concept per test item will be stressed, which seems appropriate considering that many real life math situations usually do involve a range of these concepts. Higher order thinking skills will be required.

Math Curriculum Frameworks
In the face of these imminent changes, some math practitioners I have spoken with in my role as GED liaison for SABES express real concern about how and what they must teach. Fortunately, a concurrent focus on these areas is underway in the developing ABE Math Curriculum Frameworks, which should give professionals some needed guidance and concrete instructional ideas. Here's an excerpt from the document's "Guiding Principles" (currently in DRAFT form):

• [In the ABE classroom] real-life context for mathematical concepts and skills across mathematical content areas... [should] drive curriculum development.
• Mathematics instruction [should] mirror real-life activity through the use of hands-on as well as printed instructional materials... [and] experience with a broad range of technological tools..
• Adult mathematics instruction [should be] more than text-book-driven computation practice.it[should] include experience in understanding and communicating ideas mathematically, clarifying one's thinking, making convincing arguments and reaching decisions individually and as part of a group.

Once completed, the ABE Math Frameworks will connect teachers to substantive ways for addressing the "sea change" reflected in the new test. And beyond the exam, students, too, will be the winners as they gain real-life mathematics skills essential to moving forward.

Ruth Schwendeman is the GED Liaison at the SABES Central Region and a writer/researcher for the ABE Mathematics Curriculum Frameworks 2001 Revision Team. She can be reached at 508- 885-6255 or by e-mail at rschwend@charter.net