Test Strategy

• Do a think-aloud sprint of 8 to 10 Math items, shown one at a time on screen, mixing the types and ending with two or three from the hard end of the section
• For each item, name the question type and the first move within about 10 seconds, without fully solving
• For each item, say whether a calculator helps (messy arithmetic) or hurts (algebra that is faster by hand), and whether backsolving from the four choices is the faster first move
• Check your pacing against your own plan: 34 or more, question 30 by about 25 minutes; 31 to 33, question 30 by about 30 minutes; 30 or below, which late questions to attempt and one guessing letter
• Then take the full timed Math section in the practice area and debrief it yourself: score it, name one habit that worked, and review only the misses

Math facts: 45 questions in 50 minutes, about 67 seconds per question, four answer choices (A to D). Questions run roughly from easier to harder. Pace yourself against your own plan from your target score: a target of 34 or more reaches question 30 by about 25 minutes so the last 15 get about 25 minutes, and on the timed section in the practice area should aim to finish with about 5 minutes to check; a target of 31 to 33 reaches question 30 by about 30 minutes and keeps about 20 minutes for the last 15; a target of 30 or below chooses which late questions to attempt and fills the rest with one letter chosen in advance. End the sprint on two or three items from the hard end, where the type is the same but the setup is disguised: a parameter, a hidden constraint, or a two-step setup. After the timed section: score it, name one habit that worked, and review only the misses. Type cues and first moves: linear equation, isolate the variable. System, pick substitution or elimination. Quadratic, try factoring, then the formula. Function notation, substitute from the inside out. Right triangle, write SOH-CAH-TOA or the Pythagorean theorem. Circle or area, write the formula first. Percent or ratio word problem, define the unknown and translate. Statistics, order the data or sum it. Calculator talking point: a calculator helps with messy arithmetic, decimals, and checking an answer; it hurts when the problem is really algebra, when setup matters more than computation, or when typing takes longer than thinking. Backsolving (plugging the answer choices into the problem) is often faster than algebra; when numeric choices are in order, start with a middle choice and move up or down. Picking a simple number such as x = 2 works when the choices contain variables. The online test has a built-in graphing calculator, but that tool has its own lesson, Graphing Calculator, and is not part of this one.

• Use your calculator for arithmetic but solve algebraic manipulations by hand. It's faster.
• For 'which of the following' questions, start testing from the answer choices rather than solving from scratch.
• If a question looks very complex, consider whether picking a simple number (like x = 2) and testing it works.