<p>I really need help with time management in regards to how long I should spend on reading the given information vs. the questions. On every practice section I've taken for science, I keep scoring in the high 20s - low 30s due to careless mistakes. This is getting really annoying cause I've been scoring high 30s for math and mid 30s for english/reading, and the science always drags my composite down from stupid mistakes. </p>
<h1>Time management</h1>
<p>Most people find that they need to reduce the time they spend reading the passage. Essentially just skim it for a couple of minutes to understand the structure of the passage and figures. Then re-read portions carefully as needed for each question.</p>
<h1>What’s a stupid mistake?</h1>
<p>The trick to avoiding errors of any kind is to really understand what they are. You say you are making ‘stupid mistakes’, but that could mean a lot of things. </p>
<ul>
<li>Did you fail to read an important sentence?</li>
<li>Did you fail to read all of the possible answers?</li>
<li>Did you select an answer that you did not intend to?</li>
<li>Did you interpret a column in a table wrong?</li>
</ul>
<p>There are a 1000 kinds of stupid mistakes you can make. But chances are that you make some kinds more than others. You have one or a few blind spots. It is difficult to correct a problem until your really understand what it is. Once you really know what your blind spots are, it is much easier to correct them. So what are these stupid mistakes?</p>
<p>They tend to be me reading the question wrong which leads me to look at the wrong data, not looking at the values for data axes, and selecting an answer not intended, but yeah I guess I’ll spend less time initially on the passage and just understand the structure and data, then return while answering questions. </p>
<p>That’s a good problem to have. Reading the question wrong is pretty easy to correct. Since you know it is a blind spot you will have to make a conscious effort to correct it. I recommend the following steps.</p>
<ul>
<li>Slow down when reading the question, force yourself to read it slower than you usually would.</li>
<li>Be sure you read the <em>entire</em> question, don’t skim or skip the ending.</li>
<li>Any other techniques you think of.</li>
</ul>
<p>Go slow, don’t try to time yourself or anything, just learn how to do it well. Once you find a technique that works, it will become a habit. Then when you start taking timed tests again the problem will go away.</p>
<p>Let us know how it goes, using this technique or some other. It is always great to hear a success story.</p>