How to improve your Arithmetic Reasoning score
Arithmetic Reasoning responds faster than any other subtest because it tests technique, not knowledge. Most lost marks come from solving the wrong thing — write the equation before you touch the numbers. Two to four weeks of daily word problems moves this score more than anything else on the AFQT.
Arithmetic Reasoning is one of the four AFQT subtests, so it counts directly towards whether you can enlist. See how the AFQT is built.
The three mistakes that cost the most marks
Computing before deciding what's asked
The most expensive habit on this subtest. People read the first number, start calculating, and only afterwards check what the question wanted. Read the whole problem, say out loud what you are solving for, then write the equation. Numbers last.
Answering the intermediate value
If a problem needs two steps, the answer to step one is almost always one of the options. That distractor is deliberate. Before you pick, re-read the final sentence of the question and check your answer is the thing it actually asked for.
Unit slips
Minutes against hours, cents against dollars, miles against miles-per-hour. Write the unit next to every number as you go. If your answer comes out in the wrong unit, you have caught an error that would otherwise look like a correct answer.
A drill routine that works
- 120 word problems a day, timed at about 45 seconds each.
- 2For every one, write the equation on paper before calculating. No mental shortcuts while you are training the habit.
- 3Mark the ones you got wrong but do not re-do them immediately — redo them 48 hours later. Getting it right straight after seeing the answer teaches you nothing.
- 4Once a week, do a full timed section to rebuild the pacing.
How much can you realistically move it?
AR is the quickest AFQT subtest to move. Because it is a technique problem rather than a knowledge problem, four weeks of consistent daily practice is usually enough to see a real shift — and it counts directly in your AFQT.