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Is the LSAT grading scale inconsistent?

GrumpySnailGrumpySnail Alum Member
edited February 2018 in General 100 karma

I am new to the LSAT community so please don't laugh at me if this is a dumb question. I looked at a few recent PTs and found that the grading scales for converting the raw score to the 180 scale score seem to be different for every single test. For example, in PT 80, a 170 scale score requires a 92 raw score (just like the cold diag test) but in PT 82 170 requires only 90. Both of these tests also require a 75 for 165, but on cold diag test a 78 would have suffice.
So, does that mean I cannot predict my scale score accurately even if I know my raw score after taking the real test? Also, does anyone happen to know why this would happen? Did LSAC intentionally design different grading scale for each individual test base on its level of difficulty?
In addition, it seems that sometimes a scale score in the high 170s does not match any raw score. In PT 82, 98 matches 179, 97 matches 176, but nothing matches 177. In this case, how could one possibly get a 177 on this specific test?

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  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐
    13286 karma

    Each LSAT has a different score curve based on the difficulty of a test. An "easy" LSAT means you can only miss say -9 to get a 170, a "difficult" test you can miss -13 to get the same score of a 170. The LSAC does this in order to account for variability in each test.

    That being said after taking a few tests you'll find that you fall into a particular score range fairly consistently. The LSAT is a master at keeping us right where we are. For instance the scale might change but let's say you score 160 on the first "easy" test, you'll probably score around 160 again on the "difficult" test.

    Sometimes in order to produce their scales they cut out higher end scores all together. This means that the 177 you were talking about could not be achieved on that particular test.

    Does this clear it up at all?

  • GrumpySnailGrumpySnail Alum Member
    100 karma

    @LSATcantwin said:
    Each LSAT has a different score curve based on the difficulty of a test. An "easy" LSAT means you can only miss say -9 to get a 170, a "difficult" test you can miss -13 to get the same score of a 170. The LSAC does this in order to account for variability in each test.

    That being said after taking a few tests you'll find that you fall into a particular score range fairly consistently. The LSAT is a master at keeping us right where we are. For instance the scale might change but let's say you score 160 on the first "easy" test, you'll probably score around 160 again on the "difficult" test.

    Sometimes in order to produce their scales they cut out higher end scores all together. This means that the 177 you were talking about could not be achieved on that particular test.

    Does this clear it up at all?

    Yes!!!! You've made everything crystal clear. Thank you for the clarification!!!

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