How do you train yourself not to fall to pieces after occasional score drops on PTs

Regis_Phalange63

I know it's been said many times before but it's really hard when it happens to you several weeks before your test.
Based on score data from PT 70 to 81, PT 72 and 75 were 4-5 points lower than my average. Took 74 on saturday and 75 the following wednesday; I dropped 7 points. Shit. I know you're supposed to look at average score and consider those two to be outliers but with about 6 PTs left before my second test in June, I'm really stressed. Any coping mechanisms? I'd be reasonably happy if I got a score that I got on PT 74. If I perform how I did on 75 on test day, I'd be devastated. There were only 4 days in between PT 74 and PT 75 but going down that much of a score is so frustrating. (Granted, I missed 1 on 74's LG but I bombed the last game on 75. But mainly I got toasted all over LR sections in 75)
Do I just need a small break? I really dislike myself for being vulnerable to PT scores.

studyingandrestudying

It's been said that a score can range across about 3-6 test points. I'm not an expert, but I'd say stay in the game. Figure that law school is going require stamina and one function of the LSAT is stamina training, go over mistakes and use the forums, be glad it wasn't an official scored test, and write yourself a nice note at the top of the page--next time, I'll do XYZ this way instead of what I did before, I can do this, I won't give up, and so on.

drbrown2

Just focus on your BR score and not your PT score. It’s always easier to look at a lower PT score a few days later with some confidence that you spotted your mistakes during BR. Even better, if you didn’t spot the mistakes you think you should have, you are learning even more about your weak areas and can drill them. Did you say 6 PTs before your June test?

Regis_Phalange63

@drbrown2 said:
Just focus on your BR score and not your PT score. It’s always easier to look at a lower PT score a few days later with some confidence that you spotted your mistakes during BR. Even better, if you didn’t spot the mistakes you think you should have, you are learning even more about your weak areas and can drill them. Did you say 6 PTs before your June test?

I'm writing it outside North America so it's a late June test. Speaking of BR score, interestingly, my BR score has never been lower than what I got on 75 along with the actual PT score. I couldn't review today because I was too stressed and was getting hot out of frustration so left the library to cool down immediately. Did I say my timed score went down 7 points from 74 to 75? My BR also went down 8 points. (sigh)

Lucas Carter

I think that only you can rationalize the drop. Were you under confident during that PT? Were your flaws just exposed? Did you not eat breakfast? Were you stressed about your personal life? Treat the drop like an effect that you are searching the cause of. Try to find out what else changed along with the drop. Make sure those potential causes do not happen again, as best you can. If it does happen again, maybe you did not find the true cause and you have more corrective searching to do. Also did your BR scores change at all?

Our skills do not really ebb and flow much (assuming CC competence and that you are well into the PT phase), however, our confidence does. Lebron James has nights where he goes 2/11 shooting and is a net negative for his team. Do not get down on yourself for a bad PT or even a ton of bad PTs. You have time to figure out what went wrong, correct it, and build momentum. You got this!

drbrown2

@Regis_Phalange63 said:
I'm writing it outside North America so it's a late June test. Speaking of BR score, interestingly, my BR score has never been lower than what I got on 75 along with the actual PT score. I couldn't review today because I was too stressed and was getting hot out of frustration so left the library to cool down immediately. Did I say my timed score went down 7 points from 74 to 75? My BR also went down 8 points. (sigh)

How long are you spending on BR? I've only ever come within 4 points of the low end of my BR score range and I usually spend 1-2 hours per section reviewing blind before I score the test (usually not until the next day). The reason it takes me so long is I write out my thought process for every answer choice, try to fix incorrect answers for certain question types (like parallel questions), and map out the structure/MP/tone/summarize RC passages.

From my experience, when I gave less effort on BR it was because I was being overly results oriented with the PT score. The problem with that was that I wasn't gaining as much from taking and reviewing PTs as I should have been. It also added pressure on me during timed conditions because I really wanted a good score. Now I don't care about the score. I focus on maintaining good timing/momentum during the PT, and put in a ton of work on BR trying to get a 180. Whatever issues I had during the timed PT I can diagnose as a misread/misunderstand/time constraint issue. I'm putting in way more work now, and I feel like that work is going further than an equal amount of work just taking PTs ever could. Quality > Quantity in my experience so far.

Either way, it seems to me like you might be in a similar results oriented mindset like I had earlier in my prep. You might need to take a week off PTs to focus on drills. Or if you are stressed about taking time off, maybe repeat an old PT you did well on and BR it thoroughly to see if you made the same errors again or if you have an improved understanding. That could be a nice confidence boost.

Leah M B

I'd say now is a good time to take a few days off. Think about other things. Relax a bit.

The thing with PTs is they are simply a way to gauge your progress, and it's just not always going to be a completely linear thing. There's always going to be some tests out there that will play to your weaknesses and you "bomb." But on the flip side, there are always going to be tests that play to your strengths and you overachieve, too. If you're using analytics, check out the course of your PT scores from the time you began to now. It probably weaves up and down, but the overall trend is up. That's what happens. I bombed a PT a few weeks before my actual test, and ended up scoring right in the middle of my PT average on test day. It happens.

I think the thing to keep in mind is just working on overall anxiety here. You need to keep in mind that this is just a test. It's nothing more meaningful than that. And if you don't do well, you can take it again. With the switch to digital, the LSAT is basically going to be offered monthly. And truly, schools only care about your highest score. Take it from someone (me) that only took the LSAT twice, and the second score was 4 points lower: if you don't do well on test day, you can just take it again. Schools won't care about the first lower score. You have plenty of time.

Take a couple days off. Watch some Netflix. Sleep deeply. Catch up with some friends. Then come back to the test fresh. You got this!

Regis_Phalange63

Thanks so much for your tips and thoughts guys!!!! I feel better to attack these PTs I bombed.

FoolProofFun

I think most score drops are caused by fatigue, usually brought on by overtesting. If you let a score drop get to you, it might trigger additional re-testing (to "prove" you haven't dropped in skill) which would cause even more fatigue and a larger drop. If you take a break, you should be fine.

Regis_Phalange63

@FoolProofFun said:
I think most score drops are caused by fatigue, usually brought on by overtesting. If you let a score drop get to you, it might trigger additional re-testing (to "prove" you haven't dropped in skill) which would cause even more fatigue and a larger drop. If you take a break, you should be fine.

I totally get what you mean. That attempt to "prove" that the previous horrible score doesn't reflect my skills stresses me out even further.

Regis_Phalange63

@drbrown2 said:

@Regis_Phalange63 said:
I'm writing it outside North America so it's a late June test. Speaking of BR score, interestingly, my BR score has never been lower than what I got on 75 along with the actual PT score. I couldn't review today because I was too stressed and was getting hot out of frustration so left the library to cool down immediately. Did I say my timed score went down 7 points from 74 to 75? My BR also went down 8 points. (sigh)

How long are you spending on BR? I've only ever come within 4 points of the low end of my BR score range and I usually spend 1-2 hours per section reviewing blind before I score the test (usually not until the next day). The reason it takes me so long is I write out my thought process for every answer choice, try to fix incorrect answers for certain question types (like parallel questions), and map out the structure/MP/tone/summarize RC passages.

From my experience, when I gave less effort on BR it was because I was being overly results oriented with the PT score. The problem with that was that I wasn't gaining as much from taking and reviewing PTs as I should have been. It also added pressure on me during timed conditions because I really wanted a good score. Now I don't care about the score. I focus on maintaining good timing/momentum during the PT, and put in a ton of work on BR trying to get a 180. Whatever issues I had during the timed PT I can diagnose as a misread/misunderstand/time constraint issue. I'm putting in way more work now, and I feel like that work is going further than an equal amount of work just taking PTs ever could. Quality > Quantity in my experience so far.

Either way, it seems to me like you might be in a similar results oriented mindset like I had earlier in my prep. You might need to take a week off PTs to focus on drills. Or if you are stressed about taking time off, maybe repeat an old PT you did well on and BR it thoroughly to see if you made the same errors again or if you have an improved understanding. That could be a nice confidence boost.

Thank you!!!!