How Many Questions Should You Be Attempting In Each ACT Math Section? Yesterday I explained why most students should not be attempting every math question on the SAT, and I gave a table displaying how many questions they should be answering based upon their current PSAT or SAT math score. To see that information, follow this link: How Many Questions Should You Be Attempting In Each SAT Math Section Today I will give you similar information for the ACT. As for the SAT, many students can increase their ACT math score by decreasing the number of questions they attempt to solve. Your goal when taking the ACT should be to maximize your score, and not to solve every single problem. If you are going for a perfect 36, then of course you will need to solve every problem, but for most of us, we won’t have to do that. There is only one 60 question math section on the ACT. You should first make sure that you know what you got on your last official ACT practice test or actual ACT (whichever you took last). What follows is a general goal you should go for when taking the exam. For example, a student with a current score of 22 should attempt 40 of the 60 questions. This could be the first 40 questions, but it is okay to skip a few here and there and try some that come a little later instead. This is just a general guideline. Of course it can be fine tuned. As a simple example, if you are particularly strong at algebra problems, but very weak at geometry problems, then you may want to try every algebra problem no matter where it appears, and you may want to reduce the number of geometry problems you attempt. Important note: There is no guessing penalty on the ACT. You should therefore fill in an answer for every question, even those questions that you do not attempt to solve. Simply take guesses for those last questions before time is up. If you are currently preparing for the ACT, you may want to take a look at my series of ACT math books. Comments comments