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Finished CC. Should I take PT or drill & BR sections + foolproofing?
sbc.mom_3x
Alum Member
I am apprehensive to take a PT because although I feel like I've gained a plethora of knowledge and skills I fear a low score or one close to my diagnostic. I think I'd be discouraged if my score hadn't changed much. But I like to think it has at least some. Should I just split my time for now between drilling LR & RC sections followed by BR, and also foolproofing the LGs? Or should I take a PT just to see where I'm at?
Comments
You should take PT 36 and see where you're at so you know where you need the most work. It will be helpful to know where you've improved, what's working, and what still needs work. Don't worry if your first PT isn't as high as you'd like; that's perfectly normal since you still need to learn good test taking skills. PT scores are just diagnostics ... they don't matter one bit. I embrace questions I get wrong because they guide me on what I need to improve on next.
It's really a personal decision. I'd recommend taking one just to see. I did that myself and not gonna lie, score was within like 1 or 2 points of my diagnostic. I thought I would have increased more, but I didn't.
That said, this all is really a process. There's no magical point where you jump like 10 points. It's usually just grinding it out, point by point. PTs are just ways to gauge where you are. I think it's helpful to be armed with that information. There will be good weeks and bad weeks, it's unfortunately part of that process. I think it helps on test day to learn to take PTs dispassionately. It helps to not have too much emotion riding on it.
It's a totally personal choice. But just keep that in mind!
Take one. If it isn't a big increase, don't worry. The point is just to learn where you still need to improve and what sections you have that are weak. Then you'll have a better idea of what to do next.
Awesome responses, thank you all. Very helpful. I'll go ahead and take PT 36 :-)
You should def take 36 and don't feel bad if your score doesn't improve. Many Sages say prepare for that. Even prepare for it to be much lower than your diagnostic -- that is normal. It's important to take to see what you need to go back and relearn. I just took 36 after completing the CC on Sunday, haven't BR'd yet but already know my weak spot is assumption questions in LR and LG.
I did a webinar on how to move forward after the CC if you want to hear what I think more in depth: https://7sage.com/webinar/post-core-curriculum-study-strategies/
I agree with above posters to go ahead and take a test, and I just want to elaborate on the fear of being unhappy with your PT scores. You can't be afraid of failure on PTs. Pushing yourself to fail at higher and higher levels is the way forward, and if you take it personally you're going to burn out, plateau, and redefine your expectations. No matter how well you do, seek out and embrace your failures. Even a -0 180 is not perfect if you look closely enough. There are correct answers picked up with less than perfect understanding, errors in time management, procedural deviations in LG, wrong answers left un-eliminated, etc. If you can learn to seek out and celebrate your failures, you will ultimately perform much better on test day, and your path to that point will be much smoother. Don't forget that the "P" in PT means "Practice." Practice means running a simulation so that you can create the opportunity to fail now in order that you can succeed when it counts. If you're not failing every single day, you're doing it wrong.
Thank you. I really appreciate that motivation. Your comment brought to mind the Disney movie, Meet the Robinsons. Where they celebrate failure as a means to keep moving forward. When my kids don't succeed at something I see and feel their discouragement, and remind them of one of our favorite movies, and tell them to keep moving forward. I know I can always find that type of encouragement here. I love this community.
This is inspirational stuff. :]
Just took PT 36. Didn't even finish 1 LG, skipped it and I'm not unhappy with that choice, because the last LG I felt comfortable on, but not the 3rd which I skipped. To my surprise, the RC readings were actually interesting, I genuinely felt interested in the topics, so I am eager to see if that made a difference in my performance on that section. In comparison, I have taken a few later PTs (prior to being a 7sager following the advice) and I think the LR sections were a bit harder than for instance, tests 75, 76, 77. Breaking for oatmeal then going to BR. Debating whether to BR all sections, or just LR. Probably going to do all, maybe not RC.