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28
January
2019

Improve Your Verbal and Math Skills

OASC training can help you improve basic math, reading comprehension, and vocabulary skills

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There is truth to the statement – "If you don’t practice, you’ll lose your skills." The Online Academic Skills Course (OASC) is a no-cost Defense program provided to eligible military members to help with military success. The program can help to improve promotion opportunities and help members enter college with less cash out of pocket.

So, what does this really mean?

  • PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES: OASC training can help you improve basic math, reading comprehension, and vocabulary skills - with interactive lessons that address your specific needs. These three skills are necessary when taking your promotion tests. The better you do - the higher your score - the quicker you get promoted.
    And - if your education is assessed for promotion points, these skills will also help you get better grades in your college courses.
  • COLLEGE EDUCATION: OASC training can help you improve basic math, reading comprehension, and vocabulary skills. These skills are integral throughout pursuit of your college degree and can also help eliminate taking prerequisite courses that cost money and take time. This means you can save both and get a quicker, more efficient start on your degree.

GETTING STARTED

The subject areas in the OASC training course include Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary Skills, and Math. This course is designed to make the most out of your time by focusing only on the areas you need to study. You'll start by taking the two pre-assessments to begin: verbal and math.

ASSESSMENT EXPECTATIONS

The time needed to take each assessment varies with each member. The verbal assessment starts with questions like:

Which of the following is most similar in meaning to the word fortuitous? You will have choices to select from.

There is also a reading portion with scenarios like this one...

The math assessment is similar, with a variety of mathematical questions and problems to solve.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING PATH

Once you complete the verbal and math pre-assessments, you will receive "Your Learning Path." This is a personalized learning path based on the assessment results. You will be given flash cards, lessons, and quizzes to review and address your specific needs and subject areas.

Lessons in the verbal section may include:

  1. Intro to verbal
  2. Building your vocabulary
  3. When you don't know the word - (Quiz)
  4. Understanding difficult text - (Quiz)
  5. Advanced reading comprehension strategies - (Quiz)

As you can see - some of the lessons will also include quizzes at the end.

PRACTICE TESTS

After the lessons and quizzes are completed, there are practice tests to gauge your understanding. This is only a suggestion – but after each test, you will want to return to the lessons for the areas you still have not mastered. The practice tests are timed at 30 minutes each.

POST-ASSESSMENT

When you have completed the practice tests, there is a final assessment to show how much you have learned. The verbal post-assessment is timed at 45 minutes. The math post assessment is timed at 60 minutes; giving you a little extra time to work the problems.

WHAT'S NEXT?

After completion of the OASC training, you should see an improvement in your reading comprehension, vocabulary, and math skills. Now, try taking the College Placement Skills Training (CPST) to help ensure your college success. This comprehensive online course can help you score well on college-placement exams, like Accuplacer, and within your college-level courses. Subject areas include Math, College-Level Math, English, and Writing.

CPST training is like OASC, in that it contains similar pre-assessments, a personalized learning path with lessons, and post-assessments. Check it out! Both training courses can be accessed via Peterson's Online Basic Skills Courses website.

Build your skills. Ace your exams. Advance your career.

QUESTIONS?

Do you have more questions? We have more answers. You can use our Live Chat function available on the DANTES website 24/7 at dantes.doded.mil. You'll find contact information in the blue "Need Help?" boxes located throughout the website, as well as the "Search" tool and the "Contact DANTES" tool located at the top of our website. Lastly, the message tool on the DANTES Facebook page is also available 24/7.

Other DANTES Program Resources

There is a variety of other education tools and resources available to help you on your education journey. Check out the following:

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