When in college, I'd begin with the questions or exercises at the end of the chapter. Then I'd read the portion that answered the questions. That's it. (Most questions on a test are drawn from the exercises in the back of the chapter anyway.) I never read a chapter in it's entirety. I ended up with straight A's save for one B in English Comp class, so that worked well for me.

Lectures were where I learned the most, so I never cut class.