How representative are practice LSAT scores to one's actual LSAT score?

[sven]

How representative are practice LSAT scores to one's actual LSAT score?

[goosenesque]

Depends on how well you're grasping all the concepts.  If you just casually do 3-4 tests and average a 163, don't expect to make a 163 or higher I would say.  If you do 10+ tests and consistently score within a fairly narrow range of scores, then you can expect to make close to your average.

That being said, it's different for everyone.  Some people get nervous and barely make equal to their lowest practice test, some people do better than all their practice tests.

[sven]

Well... I hope I am the latter.

[Refused Party Program]

I just took the Sept test, and my nerves played a HUGE factor in how I think I did. Since I don't normally get nervous for tests, this consideration was something I dismissed. I cancelled my score because I KNEW that I didn't perform as well as I could have. The nerves really affected me on RC (my first section, and usually my weakest) and the games (which is normally my strongest). I ended up taking way too much time on both of these sections. Also, believe it or not, all of the pencil scratching and sighing going on around me distracted me as well. To give you numbers, the last 10 PTs I did, I meaned a 167.5 with a 168 median. The last 5 I did, I meaned a 170 with a 170 median. Based on the post mordem discussion and the amount of guessing I did, I'm thinking a 165 was about what I would have scored.

A few things I'm thinking about for Dec:

1) Practice with 32 mins a section instead of 35.
2) Practice with the TV on quietly in the background, or in areas where there is random noise (ie, bookstore, coffee shop)
3) I'm focusing on raw scores as opposed to scaled scores. I think some of my practice scores were slightly inflated due to my strength in games on older tests. Now, I want to focus on missing no more than 2-3 per section.
4) Redoing questions I got wrong more. I did this, but I don't think enough. Especially in RC.

I think you can get over the nervous bug if you don't dismiss it like I did. I think that was my biggest mistake.

[Root Hog]

On PT's from the past two years, they are a fine indicator (though I'd subtract a point just due to the fact that, try as you may, you just can't replicate the real thing. On older tests, I reccomend taking the raw score and grading it out on the JUN 06 scale or OCT 05 scale (The DEC 05 is unecccesarily brutal). I sincerely believe that for anyone scoring over 163 old tests are misleading. In the past couple of years prep classes have taken off tremendously leading to the average student performing at a highre level. I belioeve that an effort that scores 165 on a 90's test is good for no better than a 162 0r 163 today. Other factor to consider: Beginning about four years ago, LSAC turned over test writing to ACT. You will otice that the types of questions ar significantly different. For exzmple, you no longer see more than one question from a single stimulus on LR, the logic games no longer contain such off-the-wall games as those set sround the table or mapping, and the RC's are significasntly longer. In fact, doing tests from the n90's can be UNhelpful, especially on games. That said, they are still of use, just use individual games as practice rather than wasting too much time taking the entire tests.

[Resident CLS Troll]

i was two points or so off the average of my last three.

[redemption]

i was two points or so off the average of my last three.

Smug bastard

[macphisto33]

yo red - did you hit high 170s before the actual lsats - or did you exceed expectations on test day?

[juliemccoy]

It is well documented that if you are consistently practicing in the mid 140's that you will get a 30 point jump on test day... In all honesty, it depends, but most people are w/in 5 points of their most recent practice test when they go to take the real thing. A rare group will choke and bomb the test, and a rare few who have been performing so-so will see an unreal spike on their actual test score. Most stay within the range where they've been scoring in the final weeks of studying.

[redemption]

yo red - did you hit high 170s before the actual lsats - or did you exceed expectations on test day?

I fell off 4 points from my median.