In this guide
In short
- Each session lasts 4 hours and 30 minutes, and the clock runs for the whole session, not for each test.
- With the standard booklet you have, on average, about 1.9 minutes per question in the morning and 1.7 in the afternoon.
- Save some minutes for the questionnaires and for checking your answer sheet.
- Rehearse a full session before the exam: stamina can be trained too.
How much time you really have
Each session lasts 270 minutes. Here is how the numbers work out with the 2026 standard booklet:
| Session | Test questions | Questionnaire questions | Total | Minutes per question |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First | 120 | 23 | 143 | ≈ 1.9 |
| Second | 134 | 25 | 159 | ≈ 1.7 |
Swipe to see the whole table →
The average is only a reference, because not every question takes the same time. In Critical Reading, questions about the same text share the reading time: the first takes longer and the next ones less. In English, some parts are very short, like the notices, and others have longer texts.
A time budget for each session
This is one way to split your time. It's not an Icfes rule: it's a starting point to adjust with your own mock exams.
| Block | Questions | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|
| Critical Reading | 41 | 80 min |
| Mathematics | 25 | 55 min |
| Social Studies and Citizenship | 25 | 45 min |
| Natural Sciences | 29 | 55 min |
| Questionnaires | 23 | 15 min |
| Final review | — | 20 min |
| Block | Questions | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 25 | 55 min |
| Social Studies and Citizenship | 25 | 45 min |
| Natural Sciences | 29 | 55 min |
| English | 55 | 70 min |
| Questionnaires | 25 | 15 min |
| Final review | — | 30 min |
In the morning, Critical Reading takes the biggest share because it's the longest test and the one with the most reading. In the afternoon, English has 55 questions, but many are short. If one test always leaves you with time to spare or short on time in your mock exams, move minutes between blocks instead of speeding up across the board.
The socioeconomic and school climate questionnaires don't affect your score, but they are part of the booklet. Answer them carefully without lingering: they're questions about you, and there are no right answers.
Two passes through each test
A useful strategy is to go through each test twice:
- First pass: answer what you can solve without getting stuck. If a question has already taken twice the average and you still don't see the way, mark it in the booklet and move on.
- Second pass: go back to the marked questions with whatever time is left in the block.
That way one hard question doesn't eat the time for three easy ones at the end. If you skip questions, always check that the number on the answer sheet matches the question you're answering.
The answer sheet
- Fill in the bubble for the option you chose completely, with a No. 2 pencil.
- If you prefer to transfer your answers at the end of each block, do it within that block's time, not in the last five minutes of the session.
- Before handing it in, check that no question has two marks and that you didn't leave blank any question you did solve in the booklet.
- Use the scratch sheet for your calculations. It isn't graded, but you must return it with the rest of the materials.
Between sessions
When the morning session ends you have to leave the test site and come back for the afternoon one. At the July 26, 2026 exam, the first session started from 7:00 a.m. (in Bogotá the call time was 6:55 a.m.) and the second at 1:30 p.m. The times for each exam are on your exam summons.
- Eat something familiar; exam day isn't the day to try new food.
- Don't start studying new topics at midday. Rest your eyes and take a short walk.
- Work out how long it takes you to get back and return with time to spare.
How to train your time management
- Practice by area with a timer to learn your pace in each test.
- Practice by session to learn to split time between areas and switch from one to another.
- Take at least one 4-hour-30-minute mock exam. That's where the fatigue of the third or fourth hour shows up, which you don't notice in short practice rounds.
- After each mock exam, compare your actual time with your budget and adjust it.
If you don't have a plan for these practice rounds yet, you can follow the four-week study plan.
Related questions
Official sources
- Guía de orientación del Examen Saber 11.º 2026-2, Calendario A (opens in a new tab)Icfes, February 2026
- Más de 650 mil personas presentarán las pruebas de Estado calendario A en todo el país (opens in a new tab)Icfes, July 24, 2026
Checked on September 30, 2026. Dates, rules and requirements can change: if anything differs, the official information prevails. The official documents are in Spanish.
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