Toughest PrepTests?

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• 1 Like

  emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 3462 karma

  I would say 65+ since that is when RC changed =/
• rblackshear Alum Member

  May 2015 104 karma

  they are all curved if that helps, so like if 80 points yields a 165... that would be a pretty tough test.
• nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 edited May 2015 7965 karma

  @tbram519 said:
  I just got my best score yesterday after taking the June 2007 preptest, does anyone know where that one stands in terms of difficulty?
  

  First time poster, long time listener
  
  We did PT62 last night—you could miss 4 and still get a 180. That's a tough test.
  
  In my opinion, 2007 is
• nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 7965 karma

  (Can't edit post) IMO 2007 is not a particularly hard test. I've seen much harder.
  
  But OP ... You JUST took June '07 and you're taking the exam in June? How many PT's have you taken overall?
• deleted account Free Trial Member

  May 2015 edited May 2015 393 karma

  I find it depends on my level. When I was just ok at the test, I found the more recent ones harder, because the mechanics are harder. Now that I am good at the test, I have mastered the mechanical stuff, so I find the earlier ones harder, as they are far less consistent. For example, PT 1 is utterly different in terms of how questions are asked and, of course, the LG, than is PT 66 (which I took yesterday). PT 40-50 were a little bit weird. Just look at the "Hannah" game in PT 2, which was easy for me even at that time because it requires more logic and less mechanics. Compare that to the "Juggler" game, in PT 22, or one of the other ludicrously hard games that are simple if you know your mechanics well.
  
  I think that RC has gotten a lot harder in the later tests. The questions in the early tests were not easy, but they were much easier to identify if you spent time in the passage. Now the questions lean much more towards inferences and the answers are more dependent on a single word than on taking the passage as a whole.
  
  It also depends a great deal on the scale what score you will get. I typically get 4-6 questions wrong per test. However, that does not mean even a remotely similar score based on the scale.
  
  For example, here are my last three tests:
  
  PT 41: 4 wrong, 178
  PT 48: 5 wrong, 174
  PT 66: 6 wrong, 174
  
  What's up with the huge jump with only 1 more question wrong? PT 48 was scaled so that two scores in the 170's were not possible. PT 66 was scaled for one. That is very evident in the more recent tests. The earlier tests seemed to have more logical scales. Anyway, that's just one more level of "difficulty" that you have to compare.
• 1 Like

  Jengibre Member

  May 2015 383 karma

  Because of the scaling, there should not be much variation test to test. As Nicole said, PT 62 was especially challenging for many people, but had a generous curve. For example, I got 9 questions wrong, which would often be a 171. With the unusually high number of questions (102) and factored in difficulty, it ended up as a 174.
  
  Of course, in reality there certainly can be days where one test taker does much worse or much better than their average. I think it depends on what your particular strengths and weaknesses are and how the test played to them. As you practice more, you will see less and less wild variation in score. This is a reflection of a deeper and more solid understanding of the fundamentals. It will become less likely that one day you do exceptionally well (maybe an RC section spoke kindly to background knowledge) and then you do much worse than usual the next day, perhaps for the opposite reason. Things like this can happen even with lots of practice, but scores tend to fluctuate to a smaller degree for seasoned LSAT preppers.
  
  The LSAT analytics tool is invaluable. It shows which question types give you the most trouble, of course. But it also led me to notice today that I no longer have a strongest or weakest section. I used to be best in LR and worst in RC, with games in the middle, varying greatly test to test. Now, after being at this for several months, my averages in the three sections are nearly identical.
  
  I don't think it's a particularly useful exercise to try to determine which PTs are the "hardest" or "easiest," as test makers factor in difficulty when scaling, and some determinants will be idiosyncratic. What is more helpful is to thoroughly blind review and examine the analytics after every test, so that you know more broadly where your weaknesses lie. Then continue studying fundamentals, giving particular attention to the Achilles heels you've identified.
• deleted account Free Trial Member

  May 2015 393 karma

  @Jengibre
  
  I disagree with you a little bit. I seem to get exactly the same number of questions wrong on just about every test, which means that my score is widely determined by the scale on the test. For example, PT 62 does have a very generous scale. like you said, but I got my typical 6 questions wrong, leading to a 176. I just feel like for an individual person, after doing enough tests, the questions that are on the test are pretty interchangeable, so the scale does matter.
• Jengibre Member

  May 2015 383 karma

  @josephellengar interesting! Do you usually get your 6 questions wrong in the same section, or same type of questions?
  
  I think you're right that the scale can matter for people who have really solid fundamentals. We were talking about this on the BR group last night. If you are great at games, to the point where no game can throw you off, getting a killer game will help you. You'll benefit from those extra points that others failed to get. It's also what those "curve breaker" questions in LR are about.
  
• mpits001 Alum Member

  May 2015 938 karma

  @nicole.hopkins how did everyone do in the RC section? What's the next test and when will you BR?
• deleted account Free Trial Member

  May 2015 393 karma

  @Jengibre:
  My 4-6 questions can vary. I normally get 1 curvebreaker wrong in one of the LR sections, 2 or 3 questions wrong in the RC, and then the remainder in the LG. I rarely (sigh) get a perfect LG section, so that's what makes the number vary between 4 to 6 wrong per test.
• JWEdgar80 Alum Member

  May 2015 31 karma

  PT 67 was the hardest one I came across. The RC section is known to be particularly difficult and the LG section was substantially difficult (for me at least). I'm a mid/upper 160's guy and on PT67 I got a 158.
• 1 Like

  tbram519 Alum Member

  May 2015 edited May 2015 77 karma

  Thank you for the responses, everyone! This community is very helpful! I'm going to take PT 62 today. With just under 3 weeks to the test, I want to take some of the PT's people find most difficult so I feel more prepared, as though I have seen the toughest material. I recognize the tests are relatively similar in difficulty, but some are undoubtedly (if slightly) tougher than others. I will take some of the tests you all listed!
  
  @nicole.hopkins I found the June '07 preptest particularly easy as well! I got my personal best score of 176 on that test. As for recently taking that test, I haven't taken them in any particular order but I've done 22 of them so far and according to 7sage analytics (which is incredible), I am averaging 171!