Disintegrating test scores as test day approaches

[ccar]

Hi all,

I took the Live Online Powerscore course (it finished Sept. 3rd) and saw a dramatic score increase while I was taking the course. Now that the course is over, though, and I'm studying and taking practice tests (2 a week) on my own, my scores are starting to erode.

What's really troubling me is that this erosion happens in my two best sections, the logical reasoning and the reading comprehension. When I do practice *sections*, I'm still scoring as highly as I expect, but when I do practice *tests* my scores are going down. Bizarrely, I think that it's because now that I've taken 8 or so practice tests, they're starting to feel like no big deal and I'm losing concentration while taking them. Or else now that the test is coming up I'm getting distracted worrying about test day while I'm taking the practice tests. I've been reading much more slowly than I usually do in both logical reasoning and reading comprehension, and so have been running into time issues - which is really rare for me. I've also begun to read less accurately. Many of my mistakes come from misreading passages and stimuli or mistaking key words. I've been actively trying to keep myself engaged, focused and interested while taking the practice tests, but I don't seem to be having much success.

Any advice?

[Jon Denning]

First off, congrats on the score improvement! Clearly you've made some big strides, and that's a serious accomplishment.

Secondly, it sounds to me like you've more or less answered your own question

This is a tough test, and to score at a consistently high level requires a tremendous amount of focus and energy. It sounds to me, and I think you'd agree, that you've lost some of that during recent practice tests, and that's what is causing your difficulties. The good news is that it's not a conceptual hurdle (you can still score well on individual sections, so you understand the content). You just need to get your head back in the game.

We talk a lot about the proper test-taking mentality with students, particularly in the days/weeks leading up to the LSAT, and from what you've said I think you'd likely benefit from that sort of discussion. Here's a good distillation of it: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/171 ... n-The-LSAT

Read that over and readjust your focus. You've got the ability to achieve your goals on this test, so stay positive, trust yourself, and go do it.