Strategy | Testing

Timing Tips for the ACT and SAT

HOW do you pace yourself during standardized tests? Jordan Liss, a sophomore at the University of Michigan, faced this question each time he took the ACT, which was five times. “The last thing a student wants to do is a math problem trying to figure out how much time they have,” Mr. Liss said. He thought a timer would help, but “every time I brought a watch on the test day it was declined for its own reason,” like being capable of beeping or browsing the Web.

Mr. Liss and his father bought a digital Timex sports watch with a countdown mechanism and then disconnected the speaker so the alarm wouldn’t go off. “But there was definitely a lot of room for improvement,” he said. So he came up with the idea of programming watches specifically for the ACT and the SAT. By the end of freshman year, he had written a 30-page manual describing how it would function. Say you’re taking the ACT reading test, which has 40 questions. The watch tells the total testing time — 35 minutes — and time remaining, as well as where you should be at any given point.

Testing Timers, which he sells online for $40, can also be used as regular watches, though they’re not all that fashionable. And they don’t take into account the personal strengths and weaknesses that dictate pacing. So here are some of the more conventional strategies suggested by test-prep expert:

TAKE PRACTICE TESTS. To help internalize a pace, take tests until you can comfortably finish all the questions.

Credit...Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

SET A TARGET SCORE. If you’re a genius and think you can score a 36 on the ACT science test, you will need to work fast and answer all 40 questions correctly. But only 27 questions need to be correct to score a 23. If you’re an average student, choose which to answer and take the time to get them right.

DON’T GET STUCK ON ONE QUESTION. Get the easy ones out of the way first, then go back.

DON’T GUESS ON THE SAT. Each incorrect answer will cost a quarter point. But the ACT does not penalize for wrong answers. When the proctor calls out five minutes, fill in those bubbles fast.

ADJUST YOUR PACING. Each section requires different timing. For example, the ACT math test allows 60 minutes for 60 questions, but the English allows only 45 minutes for 75 questions. That gives you a minute and a half to read passages and 30 seconds to answer each question (the pace the ACT organization suggests to finish in the required time). Of course, everyone must find a test-taking comfort level. Some do better skimming the passages and heading straight for the questions.

And not for nothing is the ACT called a speed test. The SAT allots a leisurely 70 minutes a section for 54 math and 67 reading questions.

BEST WAY TO ENSURE ENOUGH TIME? Doug Becker, vice president of development in the education division at ACT, offers the obvious: Know the answers.