The math-berts among you have already done some calculating and thought:
Great, I have about 75 seconds per question. Wrong, math-bert! You have to
subtract about 20 minutes for the amount of time you need to read the reading
passages. Then subtract another minute for the time you spend watching the kid
in front of you pick his nose and maybe another half second for the time you
spend picking your own nose. Now you have only about 50 seconds per
problem. That’s just about the amount of time most people need if they work
efficiently. If you find yourself finishing ten minutes early, then you’re probably
working too fast and being careless (or you didn’t spend enough time picking
your nose). If you aren’t on track to finish all the questions before the time runs
out, you might have to be a little less careful.
If, after lots of practice and long hours spent in libraries, you are having
serious trouble getting to the end of the test, you might need to take the extreme
“amputation strategy.” This is where you don’t even try one whole passage of
the test. You don’t read it. You just enter guesses for each question. Which
passage should you amputate?* Whichever one is generally hardest for you. If
you know you hate the science passage, skip the science passage and just guess
at the questions. If you know you hate the paired passages or the passage with
the infographic, skip that one. All other things being equal, skip the LAST
passage on the test because it may be a bit harder. But remember: Enter guesses
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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