Is it worth paying for LSAC to score my test by hand? My exam came back way, way lower than expected

testfromaway

I just got a 159 on the international June test

My diagnostic was 163. I had been PTing around 173. I am careful with checking bubbling and have not misbubbled in the past. I remember making sure the bubbles lined up with question numbers as I took the exam. I walked out of the test feeling reasonably good.

I did test with a 2B pencil, not a normal #2 pencil, because in the country where I took the exam, I couldn't find any normal #2 pencils. I don't know if this might've messed something up? Or something else?

I just don't get it. Even on my worst test days, I never scored in the 50s. Ever.

Should I pay $100 to handscore, even though that $100 will make money quite tight for me (but not as tight as doing the test all over again)? Or should I accept that this happened and move on and take the test next year (can't take it again this year because I can't afford to and I don't have the study time available at this point)?

Tom_Tango

Retake

testfromaway

@Tom_Tango said:
Retake

I live abroad. I paid hundreds of dollars for flights to this test center, and I had to take days off from work to make it happen. I won't be able to retake until next June at the earliest due to the massive expense of taking the test from abroad. If I have to retake, so be it, but that would mean delaying my cycle a year or more which seems absurd given that I was PTing in the 99th percentile before scoring this way on this exam.

sx23

I'm really sorry this happened to you and it sucks so much. Do you still remember what answer choices you chose during the exam? How do they match up with your recorded answers on the LSAC report? I would make a decision about hand-scoring after seeing whether it's possible the pencils screwed you over. It has never occurred to me that a 2B pencil would be different from a #2 pencil. Maybe you could ask LSAC about the possibility of a pencil causing scantron reading problem?

testfromaway

@sx23 said:
I'm really sorry this happened to you and it sucks so much. Do you still remember what answer choices you chose during the exam? How do they match up with your recorded answers on the LSAC report? I would make a decision about hand-scoring after seeing whether it's possible the pencils screwed you over. It has never occurred to me that a 2B pencil would be different from a #2 pencil. Maybe you could ask LSAC about the possibility of a pencil causing scantron reading problem?

As I took an international exam, it was nondisclosed. I don't have access to any of my test materials, just going off of my memory and my memory tells me that I certainly did not somehow miss more than a dozen questions over my usual. It wouldn't make sense.

I do wonder about the pencils! I didn't think it was a big deal and I literally couldn't find any other kind of pencil when I was wandering the city frantically looking before the test...

I feel like a scantron error or a bubbling error are the only two real options?

sx23

So you were saying you made sure the number of questions bubbled was right for each section AND you didn't miss bubbling any questions? If that's the case the probability of a bubbling error is exceedingly low, at least in my opinion. And I can't think of a reason why a 2B pencil would cause a problem when an HB pencil wouldn't. They're both supposed to be slightly different from a standard #2. But honestly man if I were you I would probably go ahead and request a hand-scoring just because otherwise this will haunt me for the entire coming year but then money wasn't too much of a hurdle for me.

AudaciousRed

If you truly feel there is no way on God's green Earth that you could have possibly scored that low, then it might be worth a 100 to rule out vs accepting it and spending $$$$ to retest in your situation. You seem very adamant that this couldn't possibly be, so you have to decide: will you bet $100 on yourself?
If it were me? I'd probably do it. It could be a $100 that saves you money later due to an error. Could be a waste of $100, but at least then, you'll never wonder, and you will focus on what else may have gone wrong instead.

ebalde1234

I agree with the above ... it would haunt me to know I didn’t request hand scoring . All the best to you

paulmv.benthem

If you’re as confident as you sound, I would also suggest applying to re-examine the score. Hope things work out well for you!

kaitlynarias20

I would pay for them to re-examine the score. If you are considering it, then just do it. If they did not mess up scoring the test, so be it. At least you are not going to have to wonder about it and you can finally get the answer you need. If they did mess up, then hopefully your score can increase.