Practice Test Scores have Plateaued...

mary4boucher

I have been taking about 1-2 practice test per week for the past few weeks, and my scores have plateaued around 161. I am take the April LSAT, and I have about 2 weeks until test day. Any tips to jump 3-4 more points? I have taken 11 prep test since I started studying, and plan to take 4 more before I test.

Scores:
2/6/24 159
2/18/24 159
2/28/24 162
3/8/24 161
3/21/24 161
3/26/24 160

mackenziesapp

I'm in the exact same situation-- following!

letslearntogether

Is your BR plateauing too? I found I overcome my plateau when I gave myself a whole day to BR and make sure I reallllly took my time. That made me jump from my 166-168 plateau into my 170s

bridgethidemikaede

Hey, I know it's pretty damning to have your scores plateau, but taking more and more tests is not always the answer. I'd recommend you take a break, go over what you're seriously having trouble on and rewire your brain to better combat those problems. The LSAT is a test for those who think extremely logically and are very swift with it. You need to breath logic and read more to get your brain used to the nuances of pure logic.

StudyingInConnecticut

I think you should give yourself more time to study. 15 prep tests is not a lot. Maybe delay and take the June administration?
Also, you could try out other resources, like the LSAT Demon or the LSAT Loophole book.

LivinLaVidaLSAT

Your score is telling you that you must do something different. Maybe instead of just taking more PTs, spend more time studying and changing the way you reviewed your PTs (review then again, but differently). Your score shows there's still a lot you can learn and improve on. Focus on quality over quantity when working through questions. Go back over questions you missed, especially the ones you found the most challenging and the ones you were confident you got right but didn't. I learn the most from reviewing these particular questions. Write out your thinking and then compare your thinking to official explanations. This will help you uncover gaps in your understanding and force you to acknowledge what you don't understand yet. and what you're missing. Keep going!

JurisDorktorate

I'm in the same situation. PTs have been consistently in the 159-161 range with BR ranging from 169-176 for the past 10 tests.

If taking a test with LG is part of your strategy, like mine is, I would not delay taking the April Test and commit to sitting for both April and June test. You never know if you will have proctor issues or some unforeseen circumstance pop up, and with only two LG takes left, I don't think it makes sense to delay even though I don't feel quite ready myself.

As we approach the April test, I am also tapering off of timed sections and PTs and am focusing on one thing for each section:
-Drilling easy games to increase my speed. The goal here is to allot more time for hard games.
-Drilling some of my weaker question types in LR. Hoping that this will allow me to continue avoiding some of the more prevalent traps on the test.
-One timed RC passage per day. I have spent the least time in this section and want to continue exposing myself to the section

Besides that, reviewing wrong answer journaling and mindset, getting enough sleep, looking for patterns in wrong answers, and editing a one page study guide with reminders of what strategies I want to implement while taking the test, such as skipping strategies, mantras, and overall testing approach to review right before taking the test have been my focus a week out.

Some of my most recent PT's I have taken, I feel like I have been exhausted by the study schedule and it has impeded my performance. Its a similar concept with endurance sports training: you are pretty worn down by the months long workout schedule because your body doesn't really have time to recover. Tapering before a race allows your body to fully recover and realize additional energy reserves not available during the week-to-week training. I have had to get up quite early to study and fit in work, and just sleeping in an additional hour or two instead of studying the past week I feel much more focused. I think the best performance I can hope for at this point will come down to being well rested and focused, not squeezing in a few more PT's