PT Score keeps going down

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  ntrepanier5 Alum Member

  August 10 328 karma

  I'd say what you're experiencing is totally normal! PTs vary in terms of difficulty, especially given which types of questions you're best at. Three PTs certainly represents a lot of effort, but by the time you're done studying, you'll have ideally taken many more PTs, so fluctuation between only three tests is to be expected by the law of averages.

  Also, Idk how far through the curriculum you are, so some of the variation could certainly be down to that. Especially if you're still getting the hang of the approach to certain question types, it can actually be expected to see score decline: it's more important at this point in your studies to take questions slow and methodically analyze them as you've learned than it is to power through on raw intuition like we all did on our diagnostic.
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  elizabeth-723 Core Member

  August 13 8 karma

  This happened to me too! When you first take a PT, chances are you have not yet realized how much you don't know. You breeze through it not because you have LSAT technique on lock, but because you don't overthink as many questions. While you may fall for more tricks, you usually complete all the answers! By contrast, when you have gotten through some of the curriculum and realized just how tricky these LSAT writers are, you tend to spend more time looking for those tricks, even on the easy questions. You may be learning Lawgic and still taking a while to map it out. As a result you might have to skip or guess on some questions, which is a drain on your score, but continuing to practice the way you do will actually enhance your accuracy over time. You're honing your instincts so that eventually your speed and confidence improves.
  I got a surprisingly good score on my first practice test, which really got my hopes up. It declined as I went on, which kind of crushed me, but it was definitely because I was thinking through every question with the new skills I was learning. Eventually, it started coming back up! I'm still trying to improve because overthinking is a tough habit to kick, and I'm reluctant to skip questions when I've already put in some time. It's a work in progress.
  Anyway, my point is to not let this get you down, because these scores are ridiculously sensitive (like, one wrong answer makes a difference) and they are NOT a gauge of your potential. A couple of tough questions can tank you when you're otherwise doing great, but that doesn't mean you will encounter those particular types of tough questions on your actual test! In this case wrong answer journaling can really help you feel on top of your performance. Seeing that some of my mistakes are dumb is actually a relief, because they are easy to fix by reading more carefully! I think about how much better my score would be if I had caught those errors, and then gauge my actual abilities based on that score.