Self-study
Quick sanity check before test day:
Over my last ~10 PTs I’ve been scoring 167–175, with most in the low–mid 170s (171–174). I also had two recent full simulations at 171–172.
That said, my last two LR sections were both -4 (I’m usually around -1 to -2), which has me a little in my head.
Review suggests it was more execution (overthinking, a couple careless misses) than gaps in understanding.
Does this just sound like normal fluctuation right before test day, or something to be concerned about?
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Normal variation, nothing is wrong. I understand it is normal to see something "bad" and try to optimize to fix it. Buuuut, keep in mind you can also optimize in a way that hurts you. You can over index on a particular data point. You're crashing out (you might not actually be crashing out, exaggeration for fun) over two sections. Sometimes you just screw up more than other times and there isn't a lot to take away from that.
As an example, imagine you get cheated on. Sucks, right? So you decide you're going to optimize to never make that mistake again. Next partner you're going to demand their phone password, location, list of all of their friends, control over who they can talk to, and you're going to interrogate them 5x a day to make sure they haven't even looked at someone else. One problem left behind, many more created.
It is a question of what lessons you want to or should learn. It is easy to see that something isn't what you want (getting cheated on, -4) but it is harder to learn the right lesson from it. The wrong lesson can hurt you (I think we call that trauma?)
Sure, you got -4, but the same brain and study methods got you -1, -2. You have a range and perhaps hit the low end of that range recently. No big deal. Now you know -2 isn't guaranteed; you're smarter and more knowledgeable for knowing that. From what you said, you clearly see the value in process; you diagnosed your issue as poor execution. You also know what works for getting better, so keep doing that. If you bomb April, well, there is always June and August. Relax!
Before my first test I scored 170 and then 180 on the exact same day. I was so mad I scored 170 that I sat quietly for 5 minutes, used the restroom, then opened up another PT and scored 180. Variance is normal, especially when you are stressed and focused more on outcomes than implementing productive processes.