Let’s discuss the three levels of problem-solving proficiency that most students pass through when preparing for the quant section of the GRE. For each category of GRE quant questions, you may see any or all of the following three levels of proficiency as you practice solving problems:

Level 1 – You understand the logic of GRE quant questions in a category and basically know how to answer them, but you may not answer them correctly, or at least do so consistently. This is a good start.

Level 2 – You consistently answer questions in a quant category correctly, but not quickly, averaging well over two minutes per question. This level of proficiency is even better. If you can get right answers consistently, you are well on your way to hitting your GRE score goal.

Level 3 – You consistently answer questions in a category correctly, taking around two minutes per question, usually less. At this level of proficiency, you are ready to see questions in this category on the test. Now it’s time to work on another question category.

To develop the third level of proficiency, you must allow yourself ample time for deliberate practice. When you first begin practicing, if you try to rush through questions, you’ll find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to progress to Level 3. Thus, in the early stages, you should practice the questions untimed. Yes, you can be aware of how much time you’re taking, but don’t focus on the time. You need to focus on finding the correct response to each question by mastering the material and learning to use higher-level thinking, rather than on answering questions in two minutes (or any other preset time constraint). The best way to gain speed is to know the material very well and develop strong skills.

As your knowledge of the material becomes more extensive and your skills get stronger, you can begin holding yourself to more stringent time constraints. For example, perhaps in the first month of your GRE prep, you don’t worry about the time at all. In the second month, maybe your goal is to answer each quant question in under three minutes. In month three, under 2:00. Then in month four, as far under 1:45 as possible.

Another mistake that students make is that they never time themselves, and thus they don’t know whether they can solve a problem in a reasonable amount of time (about 1:45, on average). Remember, on the GRE, answering questions correctly is a great start, but that will not produce a higher score unless you can reach those answers quickly enough.

As you progress through your preparation, be sure to hold yourself to increasingly stringent time constraints when you practice questions. By test day, you’ll want to be at, or close to, an average time of 1:45 per question.