PT57 Difficulty?

Comments

• blah170blah Alum Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 3545 karma

  Most people tend to say PT 57 is quite hard because of the brutal mauve dinosaur game so awesome job on the great score! I'd also say that you can't really tell if this is a fluke or the beginning of a new trend until you have more data points, which really means taking more practice tests. During your "downtime," I'd recommend analyzing the crap out of this PT. What made this PT easier for you than others? I'd recommend doing some kind of cross-analysis review where you look analyze the differences between LR/RC/LG sections from PT 57 and LR/RC/LG sections from your lowest scoring PT in the 50s and ask yourself these kinds of questions:
  
  - Did my weakest question types show up less? (e.g., if NA question types are your weakest, were there less NA questions in PT 57 than in the others)
  - Did my weakest question types show up earlier? Typically, 1-14 with the exception of 9/10 are supposed to relatively easier. Did you notice that in PT 57 all the NA questions were in the 1-14s?
  - Did your weakest question types have arguments that you're better with? (e.g., you notice no difference in frequency or placement of NA question types but you are BOMB DOT COM at destroying causal arguments where the correct answer choice addresses an alternative cause)
  - Did the science passage come earlier rather than later, and could this have contributed to my high score?
  - Did the science passage have less questions so I had less room to make an error? (of course these two questions assume you have difficulty with science passages)
  
  This list is by no means comprehensive but I think asking and answering these kinds of questions will give you a better idea of whether or not this test is a fluke. And of course, the best way to know whether your score is an outlier is take more practice tests and see if you're creating a new trend.
  
  Regardless, congrats! Score jumps are always a good thing. We just can't maximize our understanding of what contributed to our increases and translate those to other PTs unless we review.
• brna0714 Alum Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 1489 karma

  @blah170blah - thanks for that! The idea about cross-analysis and the questions are really helpful! I've been reviewing religiously but have been coming up empty on what makes certain PTs easier for me than others. I really think this type of analysis will help. Thanks again!
• mariii_m Member

  April 2015 32 karma

  @brna0714 I actually just took PT 57 today and found it pretty difficult compared to others I have taken recently (both old and newer). The LG section was brutal, the dinosaur game took me like 13 mins! I also found both LR sections really difficult after around question 20, and was scrambling a bit toward the end of both. RC felt normal relative to other tests. First two passages were pretty easy and the second two were medium ish difficulty in my opinion. Anyway, congrats on the score and I don't think it was a fluke! I am now off to intensely BR PT 57, hopefully I will crack that dino game. Good luck on your next PTs!
• brna0714 Alum Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 1489 karma

  Thanks, @mariii_m. I appreciate your thoughts!
• Petrichor Alum Member

  April 2015 359 karma

  hit a PT record with this one (out of 20 PTs), found it very easy and hope it will be as easy on test day.
• brna0714 Alum Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 edited April 2015 1489 karma

  @Pertichor What areas do you consider to be your strengths generally? LR? RC? A specific question type?
• Petrichor Alum Member

  May 2015 359 karma

  @brna0714 LG is my strongest area, followed by RC and LR.
• 2 Likes

  nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 7965 karma

  Mauve Dino is ferociously angry that you consider his game/PT to be "Easy," @Petrichor !
  
  
• ZaTabler Alum Member

  August 2017 513 karma

  @"nicole.hopkins" said:
  Mauve Dino is ferociously angry that you consider his game/PT to be "Easy," @Petrichor !

  I'm dying at this comment. LOL!!!!