Is "going slow" really the most effective way to score high?

[oychoi]

Hello,

I have been at a score plateau for the longest time (average is 159 but the highest PT is 163 so far). My goal is eventually a 170 .

I know it is not easy to make that jump but I believe it is possible. But it may require thoughtful adjustments in my approach.

My accuracy is extremely high untimed but when I do time, I feel harried and stressed about time. I never truly feel comfortable after the end of a section and I miss a lot of easy questions I normally get correct. This is very frustrating because I somehow get many hard questions correct but miss so many easier ones early in the section.

Some people have recommended that "going slow" is the most effective strategy, meaning to not rush and take your time on each question. They actually recommend to not even focus on time at all (or to check it a little bit here and there but rarely).

I like this idea a lot because it lets me completely focus and be relaxed in answering the questions and I feel way more confident but I rarely finish the section. I usually get to 21/22 questions and have to guess the rest.

So there are pros and cons but what do you recommend for students who are severely wrestling with my issue above? High accuracy untimed but middling accuracy timed. I also suffer from severe anxiety under timed conditions which I believe affects my performance.

Thoughts? I would really appreciate it. Thank you

[Paul Marsh]

Hi oychoi! It sounds like you're studying hard and are on the right track.

Some people have recommended that "going slow" is the most effective strategy, meaning to not rush and take your time on each question. They actually recommend to not even focus on time at all (or to check it a little bit here and there but rarely).

I tend to agree with all of this. Of course each person's reading and test-taking methods are a bit different, but in general it's better to take your time and approach every question in the right way. Especially now as you're practicing, it's much more important to approach the problems correctly (even if that takes a bit more time) and not get through everything, than it is to race through everything and not apply the methods that we talk about here at PowerScore. As you continue to practice, these methods will slowly but surely get faster for you! If you take your time with practicing things correctly, you will eventually be able to complete more and more of a section.

Hope that helps! Keep up the great work.