How to Read SAT/ACT Math Questions

Success in mathematics is rooted in efficient reading. Most math mistakes on the SAT/ACT are, in fact, reading mistakes! Learning to avoid them is an opportunity to quickly and significantly boost scores without learning any new math.

Four simple strategies help ensure students aren’t misreading math questions or failing to catch important information.

The Middle Lane

The most effective way to prevent reading mistakes is to slow down a little. It’s counter-intuitive, but slowing down can actually help one move more quickly through the test, since doing so leads to better comprehension, less confusion and stress, and far less re-reading. All this contributes to stronger SAT/ACT math scores. A comfortable, moderate reading pace is the goal. The middle lane of the freeway. Not too fast, not too slow. Students should no faster than they can fully understand what they're reading. 

Read Party-By-Part

When reading gets tough, the best thing to do is slow down, read each sentence part by part, and make sure you understand each part before going on to the next. Yes, this will take some time. But what’s the alternative? Not fully comprehending the question is the best way to answer it incorrectly. Taking the extra time to read slowly and carefully enough to fully understand the problem, students actually save more time than the strategy costs, even as it greatly improves the likelihood of choosing correct answers. 

Boil-Down Questions

This is another great way to boost comprehension and improve the odds on difficult SAT/ACT math questions. The acronym “RCU” outlines the steps: 

“R” stands for read the question all the way through. 

“C” means circle the main words in the question (i.e. the last sentence, with the question mark). 

“U” reminds us to underline the clues. 

Taking these notes on scratch paper increases awareness of the meat and bones of the question and leads naturally to higher scores.

Point to Get the Point

“Tracking” is a tried and true method for improving concentration and comprehension. 

All you do is your pencil or index finger under the text as you read, and pay close attention to both the meaning of the text and your pointer. 

While this technique precludes reaching maximum reading speed, who cares? As we’ve already pointed out, comprehension is more important than speed on the SAT/ACT math section. Point to get the point!

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