How to get better at tactics

Every time I play tactics i lose elo either from being incorrect or using a hint. It's really ticking me off that my rating is dropping from something's that seems so simple. If tactics help you improve, why are we rated in them. On another site, their puzzles (just like tactics on here)don't have a rating. How do i get better?

The reason tactics problems are rated is to help you learn tactics. When you miss them, your rating is lowered so the system can give you problems closer to your level.

Thanks for the responses! I'll try and take longer on the tactics problems and take time to think about them. I usually am short on time and on think for a couple seconds on them.

I have done a ton of tactics and I am not getting better.  I believe my problem is my weak calculation skill.  Also I do not judge positions accurately.

Calculation to me is the ability to move the pieces around in my mind.  I think I can do this well.  But when I am really honest with myself I notice that I get mixed up very easily.  I can move pieces in my mind but I only keep track of the ones I move.  I forget to look at how my move related to the pieces that stayed still.  Or I forget about the job the piece I moved was doing before I moved it.

The ability to judge a position is important so you know when you have found a good move.  Again I seem to be able to pick my best move to make but very often I do not pick the best reply possible.  It is like I construct things that will work with my goal instead of finding the best for both sides.

Now how do you improve at these skills so you in turn improve at tactics.  I clearly do not know as I am not improving.  I am far from giving up however.  I am trying the vision trainer section of this website along with blindfold chess drills to try to improve calculation.  And I am reading articles here about how to judge the value of positions.  Articles on strategy seem to hold this information.

I hope this helped and I hope to hear from others about how to improve at tactics.  I love doing them and can't imagine how much more I would love it if I started to see real improvement.  

Another site dosent have a hint option and you're not timed but as said above, it is rated.

You learn from tactics by actually trying to understand the move that's made. Eventually you should start to recognize the patterns and move up. Or maybe the puzzles it's giving you are more about mate in 1's and dropping pieces idk but the more you do them you should improve and move on to harder puzzles.

 I enjoy this video series about signals that will alert you to possible tactics.

Squarology's 7 signs of tactics series

Winning Tactics by Seirawan and Learn Chess Tactics by Nunn are ideal for learning tactics. Solving random puzzles is slow way to learn.

Ok, to put into simple things. 

First of all, forgot about time

Look at the kings position and all pieces aiming at them

Look for all takes, checks

Look for all discovered attacks

Look for all hanging pieces and unprotected pawn

This alone will push you through 50% of tactics here

Just take it slow... Only make the move when you can see the forced combination. At your rating, though, what you probably need to do is focus on finding hanging pieces. Don't get angry at the rating, it's meant to match your level.

I don't know how much heavy tactics study is helping because it's only been two months and I haven't been in slow games (2 start next week).  But as a retired teacher I know how learning works and the more ways you look at a problems and the more senses you use help you retain the information better.  If I don't see a tactic right away, after I see it I try to figure out WHY I didn't see it sooner.  I make sure to identify what tactic it is.  If you pay for membership at chess.com or chesstempo.com, you also get a list of how well you do with different tactical motifs.

Chess.com's problems are also scored based on time and chesstempo's are not, so if you're doing well on a tactic on chesstempo but not on chess.com, that should tell you you're not seeing that tactic well;