<p>The reason why people complain that tests give so little time, is because they write out too many steps.</p>
<p>My “trick”, if you will, is to always skip the trivial steps, and always think in your head how to do the questions in your head, only writing down when you absolutely need to. </p>
<p>That’s how I always finish tests in half the time it takes. (SAT preps, AMCs, other math contests)</p>
<p>Then again, doing it my way is hard to double check.</p>