Your strategy in the math section, and particularly the extent of your efforts to find shortcuts, should be based on your target score. If you’re looking to get a 550 or lower on the Math SAT, there simply is no need to go looking for shortcuts. You can get a 550, or even a 600, without answering quite a number of questions, so there’s no need to race through the test. You should focus on getting questions right. Of course, you should remain aware that shortcuts exist and use them when you see them, but don’t get upset or worried if you’re not unearthing a shortcut in every other question.

Students looking to score a 650 or above on the Math SAT, though, should not be working out every question. Finding quicker ways to answer questions must be part of your strategy, because it is only through these faster methods that you will give yourself the time to answer the last few difficult questions in the math section that can make all the difference. On these last few questions, even the best students might have to guess their way through using trial and error, which takes a bit of time. So you must give yourself time by moving quickly through the earlier stages of the test.

Be wary: this advice does not imply that you should simply work faster. It recommends that you look for the shorter but just as accurate route to the answer. Do not sacrifice accuracy to speed. If you can find the short but accurate route, great. Otherwise, it’s better to make sure you answer the question correctly, not that you find the wrong answer super-fast.