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Course: Digital SAT Math > Unit 1
Lesson 2: Preparing for the SATTime management on the SAT Math test
Google ClassroomA guide to time management for the digital SAT Math test
To succeed on the SAT Math test, you need two kinds of skills: math skills and time management skills. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can manage your time to succeed on the math portion of the SAT.
Understanding the test structure
The math portion of the SAT is 70 minutes long and has 44 questions, divided over two modules of 35 minutes and 22 questions each.
That means you have 95 seconds, or about a minute and a half, to spend on each question. But, this is a guideline, not a hard and fast rule! Some questions may take you thirty seconds, while others may take several minutes.
The SAT is adaptive: The first module of each section contains a broad mix of easy, medium, and hard questions. Based on how you perform on the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult. On the real test, you won’t be able to move onto the second module until your 35 minutes for the first module are up. On the practice tests, you can skip to the second module earlier, but we recommend against it (more on this below). Note that there is no break between the first and second Math modules—instead, your first break happens at the end of the Reading and Writing section, before the first module of the Math section begins.
Important time management tips and strategies
- Use the two passes strategy. With this technique, you’ll go through each module once to answer all the questions that you feel confident about. Make sure to mark any questions you don’t complete so you can come back to them during round two! After you’ve completed your first round and gotten all those easy points, head back to those skipped questions and get to work on them. This way, you prioritize spending time on the questions most likely to earn you points.
- Don’t second-guess yourself! Go with your gut. Don’t worry if a question seems “too easy” or “obvious”. Your first instinct is usually correct—especially if you’ve been studying and doing plenty of practice questions!
- Leave time at the end of each module to review your answers. If you find yourself stumped on a question or stuck between two or more choices, just take your best guess and move on. If you’ve followed the two passes strategy, you’ll be able to come back to the question later, once you’ve finished the rest of the module. Which brings us to…
- Mark questions you’re not sure about for review. The Bluebook™ app contains a tool that lets you mark the question you’re on for review. This option appears right next to the question number. When you get to the end of the module, you’ll see a review page, and the questions you marked for review will be flagged. You can click back into these questions and re-read them and check your answer. Then, at the bottom of the question page, you can click back to the review page. Note that you can click back into any question until time is up—including the ones you didn’t mark—but it will be much easier to remember which questions you want to come back to if you do mark them for review.
- Don’t leave any questions blank! The SAT doesn’t penalize you for wrong answers, so no matter how stumped you feel on a given question, you should always take a guess. You should select a choice the first time you encounter the question, even if you mark it to come back to later—just in case you run out of time before you get back to it.
- Don’t start the second module early on your practice tests! The practice tests give you the option to start the second module before the time allotted for your first module is up. However, on the real test, you won’t get this option—you’ll have to wait until those 35 minutes are over. So, when you finish the first module on your practice tests, we recommend that you use any leftover time just like you would on the real test: to review the questions you’re not sure about.
You’ve got this!
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So it said that...
"Based on how you perform on the first module, the second module of questions will either be more difficult or less difficult"
...does the difficulty becoming easier affect the score in the end?(13 votes)
Ok, so I was looking it up and I think it's like this: the first module is hard. If you do well in the first module, the second module will also be hard and you'll have the possibility of getting all the points. However, if you do bad in the first module and get an easier second module, then you won't have the chance to get all the points(26 votes)
- What's the difference between the real tests and the practice tests ?(4 votes)
The only effective difference is that the real test is the final measured score, and the ability to immediately move on to the next section. The format, type of questions, and time are identical, but only the score for the real test is transcripted, and during the real test, you will have to wait before moving on to the next section.(10 votes)
- Can we use a normal scientific calculator for the digital SAT?(5 votes)
- So it's recommended to skip harder questions and work on easier questions since they are worth the same amount of points...but then how does the transition to a harder math module vs. an easier math module work? Wouldn't it measure the amount of higher-difficulty questions you got correct? So then if you only did the easier questions and left out a few harder ones, would it give you the easier section?(7 votes)
hello! anyone else's least fave subject MATH? :/(5 votes)
If my second module gets easier, will my final results be lower? Like, the value of each question are diferent? Some values more than others?(5 votes)- Will you be able to use a graphing calculator on the digital SAT test? (I’m talking about Desmos graphing calculator). Thanks and have a great day!(3 votes)
- A simplified version of the Desmos graphing calculator is built into the Bluebook app, which is what the dSAT is on.(4 votes)
"if you have any time left..." Does anybody actually have leftover time at the end of the math section? Never happened to me ))(4 votes)
I struggle to finish in time for most of my exams, am I the only one or does anyone else struggle with this? I want to know if it's just a me thing or if it's normal.(3 votes)- Will I be allowed to use a pen and paper for rough work and calculations during the exam?(2 votes)
- During the test, you'll have access to a set of tools:
On math questions, you’ll find a reference sheet and a calculator. You can also bring your own calculator.
On reading and writing questions, use the annotation tool to highlight text or leave yourself a note.
On multiple-choice questions, if you think an answer option is wrong, you can cross it out.
You can mark for review any questions you want to come back to later.
Zoom in and out using keyboard shortcuts on laptops or by pinching on tablets.(3 votes)
