February LSAT

[deborahjeng]

I know that the LSAT writers take pride in making sure that the LSAT is a standardized test and that all of the exams offered during each month have the same level of difficulty, however I often hear rumors that the February LSAT is the hardest. I have read many opinions on different websites. Some people say that the February exam uses "stranger" logic and that the exam is generally more difficult. Some say that more re-takers (people who did not do well on the exam) and last-minute students take the exam in February, which makes the curve better (although I do not understand how that makes sense since the exam is based from a raw score). Others say that the only disadvantage of taking the February exam is that you do not get to see which questions you answered incorrectly, and in that sense, it feels like the exam is harder.

I know that there may not be a definite answer to this question, but I was wondering since Powerscore keeps records of previous exams, did you see any trends in regards to the February exam? Are the scores generally lower? Is the curve worse? Do more students complain about it? Are there any advantages if you take it in February?

[Jon Denning]

I've heard these same rumors (and thousands of others), but the truth is that every LSAT is more or less the same. That's true in terms of content, structure, and difficulty with respect to final score. Now, granted, some tests do prove to be "harder" than others, but there's three things I encourage people to keep in mind: 1. "hard" is remarkably relative, and as a general rule won't necessarily apply to you or any other individual test taker, so it's a misnomer from the outset, 2. there's no consistency regarding when a slightly more challenging exam might appear, so no reason to think of any specific administration (Feb vs Oct, say) as being predictably tough, and 3. "harder" exams have looser conversion scales, so it takes few questions answered correctly to attain a particular score.

That last one is of particular importance. Essentially what happens is that if a test is found to be somewhat more challenging for the average test taker (average number of questions answered correctly is slightly lower than normal), the test makers adjust the scoring scale in your favor: fewer correct needed for a given score. This allows them to keep the score percentages consistent across exams, even if the difficulty varies somewhat. So let's imagine for a second that the Feb test is actually harder than the others. What would happen? They'd award you a higher score for X number correct than they would for that same number correct on an easier test. In short: they use the scale to negate any subtle changes in overall difficulty.

There's a ton of awesome info on the scale here http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/scale.cfm if you want to learn a bit more.

So is the Feb test a bit different than the others? Yes! It's not released so you won't be able to review it when you get your score, it's administered too late in the admissions cycle for a number of schools if you're trying to apply for that same calendar year, and it's arguably given at the worst time of year in terms of keeping a high level of energy/enthusiasm (what is probably a cold, grey Saturday morning, at least for most of the country). For me all that's a deal-breaker and I avoid the Feb test like cheap tequila.

But is it consistently easier/harder than the others? Nope. If you're feeling ready to go come Feb, and the school(s) to which you'd like to apply accept it (or you've got another year before applying), there's absolutely no reason not to take it.

Final note: good for you asking questions instead of just believing the rumors that tend to swirl around nonstop about this test. Most of them are probably harmless, but still always wise to question what you hear and seek out the facts before committing yourself to some belief/course of action on hearsay. Let us know if you have any other questions!

JD