We updated the way we calculated difficulties. Nothing got objectively easier or harder, but you might notice that some questions shifted a star or two in difficulty from where they used to be.

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We changed the formula underlying our difficulty calculation. We used to rate a question by how strong a student has to be to have at least a 50% chance of getting it right. Now we rate it by how strong you have to be to have at least a 75% chance of getting it right. The main effect is that questions where a high scorer isn't much likelier than a low scorer to get it right -- questions that are a bit of a coin flip for everyone -- now get rated as hard. Under the old system some of them could have been rated as easy.

We think the updated calculation results in better difficulty ratings.

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14 comments

  • Edited Tuesday, Jul 28

    I've been personally victimized by 'easy' questions, and I feel seen.

    59
    Tuesday, Jul 28

    @afk big facts 😭

    5
    Tuesday, Jul 28

    @afk when i get one wrong and it has a 138 next to it i lose my mind

    18
    Tuesday, Jul 28

    @pennstater44 Understatement, for sure.

    I set up an LR drill that uses incorrect questions as a type of "vindication drill" that's been unexpectedly helpful. An added bonus is how I get to re-read the notes I had written when I initially answered the question wrong. Saying nicer things to my future self wouldn't be a bad thing LOL

    2
  • Wednesday, Jul 29

    Now it makes me curious... which questions have secretely been "evil 5 star questions" 👀

    9
  • Tuesday, Jul 28

    Kevin. It's been day 9 without my Sage AI. I miss my parasocial relationship.

    17
    Tuesday, Jul 28

    @antitrust_fan glad to know I'm not the only one

    3
    Wednesday, Jul 29

    @antitrust_fan same. I depend on that little guy. He’s a necessary condition to me studying. 🫠

    3
    Kevin_Lin Instructor OP
    Wednesday, Jul 29

    @antitrust_fan Ran out of usage? It resets August 1!

    2
    Wednesday, Jul 29

    @Kevin_Lin Kevin there's so little for $70/month. Paying for two AIs seems a little absurd so it's hard to justify the extra cost for Live, especially when I don't really want anything in Live.

    2
  • Tuesday, Jul 28

    Awesome! 🔥 PT138.S1.P3.Q17 went from a one-star to a five-star (screenshot taken last week when I was showing it to my friend):

    7
    Wednesday, Jul 29

    @PowerUp_Tutoring Omigod I got that one wrong initially. Makes so much more sense now.

    2
  • Wednesday, Jul 29

    Im new to 7sage. Is starts the same as lawhub levels 1-4? How come the questions are not the same as lawhub advtange's difficulty?

    2
    Kevin_Lin Instructor OP
    Wednesday, Jul 29

    @Amanda.K It's not clear how LawHub rates the difficulty of questions. Ours is based on data from hundreds of thousands of students, so I think ours is probably more reliable. They have 4 levels because they don't discriminate as much on the top end -- we have more stars to capture more distinctions in difficulty. (Some users even want more than 5 stars!)

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