Help...

[jadaws]

I've just completed my second practice test and have made the same score on both (136). Test 1: I didn't complete 14 questions and Test 2 I didn't complete 6. That is a long way away from where I need to be by June 10th. I did both of the tests under the real time constraints that I will see on the test, and my purpose behind doing that is to not get too relaxed with taking an "un-timed" test or giving myself more time. I've heard some people that I know who have taken the test say that they wish they would have always practiced it with time because when it got closer to the date they realized that they didn't have near as much time as they were used to having. Does anybody have any advice as to what I should do or where I should go from here?

Thanks,
Josh

[Kent Smith]

Hello Josh,
Your first few practice tests can definitely feel overwhelming, so please know that you're not alone in feeling a bit apprehensive! First of all, I'd encourage you to devote a lot of time to untimed practice; either full-length tests, or individual homework problems. It's important that you get a chance to think through the steps for attacking each problem type, which will be very time-consuming at first. When you've practiced many problems of a certain type, though, the steps will be so natural you'll find yourself doing them automatically. Second, if you got through an entire test and only omitted 6 questions, it sounds like you're rushing to finish and not giving yourself adequate time to analyze the questions. At this point in your preparation (since this is only your second practice test), I wouldn't expect you to be finishing any of the sections, much less completing all but 6 of the questions. You'll find your score going up as you slow down and go through the steps of the PowerScore approach to each question type. So in summary, I recommend you take a break from timed practice, and just focus on practicing the methods for attacking each question type. I hope that helps!
Best of luck,
Kent