Scores Decreasing Significantly

dwesleyrice01

I've been studying non-stop rather obsessively and I've been taking more PTs as I've wrapped up the Core Curriculum.
My scores in the past week from oldest to most recent:
PT 50 - 166, PT 36 - 170, PT 70 - 172, PT 86 - 166, PT 71 - 169, PT 87 - 163, PT 69 - 162
I know I could be burnt out but I'm also really worried that the scores have something to do with some tests being easier than others. That's the reason I took PT 70 immediately after taking PT 36, I thought maybe it was because it was older that I got a 170. But now I'm getting 10 points less on PT 69. So am I just burnt out, not scoring as well as I'd hoped, or both?

dwesleyrice01

Note: PT 50 was actually almost a week before 36. PTs 36 and 70 were 5 days ago, 86 was 3 days ago, 71 two days ago, 87 yesterday, and 69 today.

ilovechai222

maybe you're taking too many PTs. I try to limit myself to 1-2 a week. Go back to the basics and start drilling the question types you miss the most.

hank2023

I'm in a similar situation recently where my most recent practice tests have been among my lowest scores. The tests I took were in the 80s, and some of those have a little bit of a different feel than some earlier tests. There's always going to be tests that align better or worse with your strengths, which will cause your score to vary a bit. The biggest thing to do is to check in with yourself and assess whether or not you feel like you've improved, regardless of the score. Do you understand the concepts better, and are you able to better see what you're doing wrong? Taking and reviewing practice tests should allow you to identify these areas, and are not just to check to see if your score is going up or down. I'd also recommend slowing down and maybe doing some untimed practice, or single sections to focus on a problem area/build confidence that you can bring into your next PT.

dwesleyrice01

@elizabethortiz0415 said:
maybe you're taking too many PTs. I try to limit myself to 1-2 a week. Go back to the basics and start drilling the question types you miss the most.

Just an update. Took a three day break and got a 171 on PT 67. Seems I just needed a break.

SlowDown

@dwesleyrice01 said:

@elizabethortiz0415 said:
maybe you're taking too many PTs. I try to limit myself to 1-2 a week. Go back to the basics and start drilling the question types you miss the most.

Just an update. Took a three day break and got a 171 on PT 67. Seems I just needed a break.

I'm dealing with a similar issue, but not necessarily as extreme. I suspect taking a break, as well as a few days focusing on drills/conceptual review will be helpful. Though taking PTs has been good for exposure and stamina, I feel like emphasizing PTs so much has lead me to cast some of my foundations aside and overthink too many questions.

1stWorldProblems

I've taken taken one complete PT so far, and scored 173. I've been doing drills in very small portions, (pick 5-10 questions each) and really take advantage of blink review and the wrong answer journal.