Do Reused LSAT's Keep the Same Experimental Sections?

[Toolitoncat30]

If LSAC were to reuse a previous undisclosed LSAT for another test day would the experimental sections be the same or would they switch them up? For example if there was a test form with three LR sections and they reused it would they continue to use the same experimental section from the first issue of the test or would they switch the experimental to another one of the three LR sections. I know the sections and their questions stay the same but do they switch what section of questions they choose to be the experimental?

[Jon Denning]

Hi toolitoncat - thanks for posting, and welcome to the Forum!

That's a good question without an absolute answer, I'm afraid. That is, LSAC does both: sometimes they reuse tests in their original format entirely, and sometimes it's only the four scored sections with a new experimental. So there isn't a standard practice in this particular regard.

To me what's most interesting is when they reuse the original experimental content...and that content has already made it's way onto another test as scored material! Perhaps the most notorious instance of this was with the infamous computer virus game that was real in September 2016, but first appeared (and tormented people) as experimental on the February 2013 exam. I bring that up because the Feb 13 test was reused as a fairly large-scale make-up test in October 2017, a year after the virus game was in public circulation, and LSAC kept it on the make-up test...a clear sign that that section was experimental, since they'd never re-test public content and have it be scored. So anyone who'd done September 16 and seen that game, and then faced it again on the make-up in October 17, knew straight away that what they were seeing that October was unscored (experimental). That gave a lot of people an edge, and was one of the clearest signals that LSAC does indeed reuse tests wholesale, experimentals and all.

I can't say whether that will happen on individual administrations where reuses occur, of course, but it does happen from time to time.