Master strategic skipping to score higher on tests

What to do when you find a GRE question you can’t answer

Key insights

• Not every GRE question requires equal focus. Knowing when to skip or make an educated guess is a valuable skill.
• When you feel stuck, resetting your thinking can open up new ways to approach the problem and help you find the right answer.
• Effective test habits are essential. Good strategies allow you to show what you know, even under pressure.
• Dealing with challenging, multi-part problems depends more on careful, stepwise methods than raw intelligence.
• Becoming too confident or fixated on certain problems can actually hold you back, even if you’re usually a top student.

Almost every GRE test taker encounters questions that feel confusing or difficult at first. Getting stuck or feeling anxious when you see a tough math problem or dense reading passage is perfectly normal. What matters is how you handle those moments, as they play a key role in your overall performance.

Here’s some good news: you can tackle these situations with a plan, even when you don’t know the answer right away. How you deal with uncertainty on the exam not only impacts your score, but also builds transferable skills like adaptability, self-management, and making good decisions when it matters most.

Now let’s look at some straightforward, research-backed strategies that will help you stay calm and maximize your score when you face difficult GRE questions.

Strategic skipping and guessing

Many successful GRE scorers don’t answer every question in order or give each one equal attention. Instead, they decide when it’s best to skip a question and revisit it later, or when to make their best guess and move on.

Research on standardized test performance, including research from ETS (the makers of the GRE), highlight this behavior: high scorers spend less time dwelling on tricky questions, a practice built through intentional studying. They’re more likely to skip the tough ones and return if time allows. This approach protects their time and ensures they answer the questions they feel most confident about, rather than getting stuck and risking missing out on easier points later in the section.

On the GRE, every question is worth the same amount, and there’s no penalty for wrong answers. In most cases, it’s better to make your best guess than to leave a question blank. If you run into a problem that’s eating up too much of your time, maybe it’s especially complicated or wordy, flag it and move forward. Once you’ve addressed the rest of the section, come back to it if time permits.

When you do guess, don’t pick at random. Eliminate any answer choices you know are incorrect and choose from what’s left. Even partial knowledge increases your chances of picking the right answer.

Viewing skipping or guessing as smart tactics, instead of failures, helps lower anxiety. They’re signs that you’re managing the test actively. The more you incorporate skipping and guessing when you practice, the more confident and natural these strategies will feel on test day.

Breaking stuck patterns with a mental reset

It’s easy to repeat the same method over and over on a problem simply because it’s familiar, even when it isn’t leading to the answer. This kind of mental rut can block your path to the solution.

If you notice yourself going in circles, give yourself a fresh start. Take a slow breath, pull your eyes away from your scratch paper, and consciously decide to "begin again" on the question. This pause allows your mind to reset and helps you see the problem in a new light. Research shows that even brief breaks can spark creative problem-solving and help you spot things you missed before.

To use this strategy, don’t just stare harder at the problem. Instead, reread the question carefully, set aside your prior work, and approach the information as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Many times, the issue is a misreading or a false assumption. Starting anew gives you a chance to catch these details and make meaningful progress.

During practice tests, plan short pauses if you realize you’re repeating the same approach. When studying with others, encourage each other to restart fresh when someone gets stuck: sometimes, a shift in perspective is all it takes.

Training yourself to reset your brain is a powerful way to tackle the GRE’s most stubborn questions. When you break free from unhelpful patterns and consider alternatives, you’re more likely to have those "aha" moments and make accurate choices.

Building efficient test habits

Doing well on the GRE involves more than just knowing the material; it’s about creating habits that help you use what you know efficiently during the test. Purposeful skipping, strategic guessing, and solid time management can make just as much difference as academic strengths.

Simulate real exam conditions as you prepare. Get in the habit of skipping questions that seem unusually time-consuming during practice. Don’t try to fight through every question on your first attempt; keep moving and plan to revisit tricky items if you have time left over.

Guessing should also become an intentional habit. Since the GRE doesn’t penalize for incorrect responses, smart guessing helps you make the most of every question. Using elimination to narrow down your choices improves your odds, so the more you practice it, the more automatic it’ll feel on test day.

Time management ties everything together. Use timers or regular check-ins during practice to keep yourself on pace, and notice when you’re spending too long on a single problem. As you do this regularly, you’ll learn to recognize a healthy test-taking rhythm. By making these habits a core part of your preparation, you’ll feel calmer and more in control during the actual exam.

Tackling composite and tricky problems

Multi-step problems, whether in math, science, or complicated reading passages, can seem daunting. The secret to handling them isn’t brilliance: it’s having a process.

Start by breaking each problem into smaller, manageable pieces. Pinpoint what the question is really asking, take note of the information provided, and outline the steps you’ll take. Work through each piece in order. For math, this could be solving for one variable before applying it to the next part.

After each mini-step, pause and check your reasoning. Does your answer make sense? Are the units correct? By verifying your work as you go, you catch small mistakes before they throw off your entire solution.

Try not to rely on guessing for multi-part problems. While educated guesses are great for single-answer questions, with complex ones, one error can impact the whole chain. Keep your work organized using scratch paper, notes, or diagrams to map out each piece of the question.

To sum up, clear organization and step-by-step checking are the best approach for complex problems. Don’t be tempted by shortcuts, steady progress brings better results.

Managing overconfidence and emotional attachments

Being confident on test day is important, but overconfidence or getting too attached to a single problem can actually lower your score. It’s all too common for students to fixate on a question that feels within reach, investing more time than is wise. Even high performers sometimes spend extra minutes chasing that "almost there" feeling, only to run out of time for easier points elsewhere.

This mistake comes from the sunk cost fallacy: the more you’ve invested in a problem, the harder it is to let go, even when moving on would be best. On the GRE, maximizing your score depends on using your time wisely, not stubbornly pushing through.

Keep yourself on track by watching the clock and having a plan for when to move forward. If you notice frustration building or you’re not making progress, allow yourself to skip the problem and revisit it later if possible. Any extra time at the end gives you a chance to try challenging questions again with a clearer mind.

Self-reflection is crucial. After practice sessions, ask yourself where you got bogged down and whether you could have moved on sooner. Use these insights to improve your time management and test strategies going forward.

Key takeaway: Make strategic skipping and guessing a core GRE skill

Top GRE performers understand that skipping and guessing aren’t admissions of defeat: they’re advanced skills that lead to higher scores. Deciding when to move past a tough question frees you to focus on the problems you’re ready to solve. Practice these tactics throughout your preparation so they feel like second nature on exam day.

Success on the GRE, and in other demanding situations, comes from more than just content mastery. Your ability to evaluate situations, stay flexible, and manage your time will set you apart. Sometimes, the smartest move is recognizing when to step away from a problem and refocus your attention. By training these habits, you’ll approach even the most difficult GRE questions with poise and control.