What's wrong with me?! Why do I take too long on tests?

[drpepper]

Ever since I was in elementary school, I've never been good at taking tests. I usually take a long time and am usually one of the last people to turn my test in, if not the very last person. It's mostly on multiple choice tests, because my main problem is comprehending everything I'm reading, and multiple choice tests usually have more information you have to read. Although it's annoying, it usually isn't a problem since at least most tests I take in my classes aren't timed and we have the whole class period to do them. However, it is a huge problem on standardized tests! Well, I did fine on my standardized tests that I took in elementary and middle school, and I passed all my high school graduation exams already (they start giving them to us our sophomore year, I'm a senior now) since they weren't timed. But I've taken the PSAT and the ACT, and oh my gosh, it is awful. Those are both timed, and they already give you a ridiculously small amount of time to do all the sections, so even the average person may not finish. But for me, it's even worse. Especially the reading portion because they have all those passages you have to read. I've never been good at reading comprehension, and I often have to read questions over again just to be able to process what the question is asking. I took the ACT last spring and I got a 21. I heard that that's the national average and you can get into some colleges with that score. But it just frustrates me so much because I know I could have done better if I had had enough time, or if my stupid brain would just process the information faster. I'm taking it again tomorrow, and this is my last chance since my college application will have to be turned in soon. I am so stressed. Is 21 really a good enough score (I'm not applying to any fancy school like Harvard or anything, so it's not like I need a 30 or whatever)? Because I'd like to believe that I'll do a little better tomorrow, but I'm so stressed about it, and the combination of being stressed and not being able to read all the questions in the given amount of time is going to bring me down. Why do I have this problem of not being able to comprehend the information? What can I do about it? I never realized it was so much of a problem until I got to high school and had all these timed tests and also ask questions in a bunch of detail that I have to read. I'm at my wits end! And if most of the tests you take in college classes are timed, I'm screwed.