Did a full timed practice test today and ran out of time with 8 questions left. Definitely have a time management problem.
The (ACTAR) Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstructionist exam has 89 questions and the time limit is 98 minutes by my understanding. That works out to roughly 74 seconds per question — which should be doable except I keep stopping on "ACTAR exam" type questions.
My bad habit: I over-analyze questions I'm unsure about rather than making a best guess and moving on.
Any strategies that worked for you? Specifically:
- Do you go through once and skip hard questions to come back to?
- How many questions on "ACTAR" should I expect — is it worth the time investment?
- Is the real exam usually easier to pace than practice tests, or harder?
I'm good enough on the content, I think — it's purely pacing that's failing me.
Same boat a few months ago. Here's what I'd tell myself:
The ACTAR exam is more concept-focused than the study guides suggest. They test whether you understand ACTAR, not just whether you can define it.
My tip: when you see a scenario question, mentally walk through it step by step before looking at the answers. The wrong answers are designed to catch people who jump to conclusions.
Good luck — the fact that you're doing this level of prep means you're going to be fine.
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