15.3 Mixed-Question Review Log
Key Takeaways
- A final review log should record why each missed question happened, not just whether the answer was wrong.
- Log seven fields per item: subject, skill, source type, timing, confidence, error cause, and a repair action.
- The highest-value misses are repeated patterns across subjects, such as misreading graphs, overlooking evidence, or rushing calculator entries.
- Review is complete only when you can redo the problem, explain the rule, and answer a near-transfer question.
- A mixed-question log prevents final prep from becoming four isolated plans that repeat the same mistake in each subject.
Track The Reason, Not Just The Result
In the final GED stretch, a wrong answer is useful only if it tells you what to repair. A mixed-question review log is a one-page system that turns missed Math, RLA, Science, and Social Studies questions into focused action. The goal is not to collect mistakes. The goal is to stop the same mistake from migrating between subjects, because the GED reuses the same reasoning habits across all four tests.
The Log Format
Use one row per missed or guessed question. Include questions you got right only by luck, because lucky answers hide weak skills that will fail you under the official timer.
| Field | What To Record | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Math, RLA, Science, or Social Studies | Science |
| Skill | The tested skill, not the chapter title | Interpret a data table |
| Source Type | Passage, graph, experiment, equation, source document | Bar graph |
| Time | Too fast, on pace, or too slow | Too fast |
| Confidence | High, medium, low | High but wrong |
| Error Cause | Why the miss happened | Read the wrong axis |
| Repair Action | What you will do next | 10 graph questions, axis labels first |
The most important field is error cause. Do not write "careless" unless you can name the careless behavior. Better labels are "ignored units," "picked the opposite claim," "distributed only the first term," "used outside information," "did not compare answer choices," or "ran out of time and guessed." A precise cause becomes a precise drill; a vague cause becomes more vague studying.
Cross-Subject Error Categories
Many GED misses are not truly subject-specific. Reading a graph in Science and reading a graph in Social Studies use the same habits. Finding textual evidence in RLA and identifying support in a historical source overlap almost completely.
| Error Category | Shows Up In | Repair Drill |
|---|---|---|
| Misread labels or units | Math, Science, Social Studies | Circle title, axis, and units before solving |
| Outside knowledge over evidence | RLA, Science, Social Studies | Underline the exact sentence or data point |
| Calculator entry mistake | Math, Science | Write the expression first, then enter once |
| Opposite answer choice | RLA, Social Studies | Predict the answer before reading choices |
| Time spiral | All subjects | Flag, move on, return with remaining time |
The Three-Step Review Rule
A missed question is not repaired when you read the explanation. It is repaired when you can complete three steps in order.
- Redo: Work the question again without looking at the answer.
- Explain: State the rule, the evidence sentence, or the graph feature that proves the answer.
- Transfer: Solve a similar question with different numbers, wording, or source material.
If you cannot do the transfer step, the skill is not stable yet. Put it on the next day's short drill list rather than checking it off.
How To Use The Log During Final Week
Review the log every two days. Count repeated error causes, then choose the top three. Those are your final-week priorities. If the same cause appears in more than one subject, fix it before adding any new content. A student who keeps choosing answers that are true but not supported by the passage should drill evidence selection in RLA, Science, and Social Studies together, not read another history summary.
A Sample Log Entry
| Subject | Skill | Error Cause | Repair Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | Slope from a graph | Used rise/run backward | 8 slope questions, label vertical change first |
| RLA | Main claim | Picked a detail, not the whole argument | Write a one-sentence main idea before choices |
| Science | Experiment conclusion | Ignored the control group | Identify independent, dependent, control first |
| Social Studies | Source evidence | Used personal knowledge | Quote the source line before answering |
The review log should stay small enough to actually use. A messy notebook full of copied explanations will not help when the timer starts; a short list of repeatable behaviors will. By the time you schedule, your log should show fewer repeated causes, faster repair cycles, and clearer explanations. That trend is a far better readiness signal than simply saying, "I studied all week."
Weight Misses By Frequency, Not By Pain
A common trap is spending the most time on the question that felt most embarrassing rather than the error that appears most often. The log fixes this by making frequency visible. Tally each error cause across all four subjects, and let the count set your priorities. A single hard combinatorics question you missed once matters far less than an evidence-selection habit that cost you four points spread across RLA, Science, and Social Studies. The GED rewards consistent reasoning across many medium-difficulty items more than mastery of a few rare hard ones, so chase the repeated cause first.
Convert Causes Into Micro-Drills
Every repeated cause should become a five-to-ten-minute micro-drill, not a vague intention. "Misread units" becomes ten short data questions where you must circle the units before computing. "Opposite answer choice" becomes a set where you write your predicted answer in the margin before reading the options. "Calculator entry mistake" becomes a batch where you write the full expression on the note board, read it back once, and enter it in a single pass. Micro-drills are short enough to repeat daily and specific enough that improvement shows up quickly in the log.
Retire Skills Deliberately
A skill leaves the log only when it survives the redo-explain-transfer test on a fresh question, not when you simply stop missing it by chance. Mark retired skills with a date so you can spot-check them once more in the final week; skills repaired early sometimes decay if they are never revisited. A log that shrinks for the right reasons, with dated retirements and falling repeat counts, is the clearest evidence you are ready to schedule.
Which entry is most useful in a GED mixed-question review log?
A student misses RLA, Science, and Social Studies questions by choosing answers that sound true but are not supported by the passage or source. What should the review log prioritize?