Some Test-Wise Strategies for AP Success

Remember, on the multiple-choice section you have about 1 minute and 12 seconds per question. But there will be some questions that won t take that long. Using less time on the easier questions will give you more time for the harder ones. Learning to pace yourself is extremely important. Here are some pacing guidelines you should remember  

While each successive problem may not be more difficult, you should keep in mind that the earlier problems tend to be the easiest. Work as quickly as you can through the beginning of the test. Don t get lulled into a false sense of security because you appear to be maintaining a good pace in the first part—it s going to get harder  

All right, how will you know what your speed limit is Use the practice tests to check your timing and see how it affects your answers. If you ve answered most of the questions within the time limit but also have a lot of incorrect answers, you dbetter slow down. On the other hand, if you are very accurate in your answers but aren t answering every question in a section, you can probably pick up the pace a bit. 

It s hard to let go, but sometimes you have to. Don t spend too much time on any one question before you ve tried all the questions in a section. There may be questions later on in the test that you can answer easily, and you don t want to lose points just because you didn t get to them. Remember, all of the questions are worth the same amount of points—you won t get extra points for solving that really difficult problem. If you get stuck, it s better to bail and try for an easier question. 

If you re going to pace yourself, you need to keep track of the time—and what if there is no clock in your room or if the only clock is out of your line of vision It s a good idea to bring a simple, non-digital watch to the test. Don t use a watch alarm or else your watch will endup on the proctor s desk. 

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