Test scores

[LSAT99.9]

Hi LSAT Experts,

I am taking the LSAT in exactly two weeks on Sept 24. I have been quite consistently scoring in the 168 range for about a month now. However, this morning I took the June 2014 PT and scored an upsetting 161 while reviewing I realized I made far too many silly mistakes. the only thing I can think of that may be responsible for this drop is that I typically take PTs around midday , but today I took it at the actual time it will be administered (8:30am). I am planning on taking three more practice tests at 8:30am (this Wednesday, next Saturday and next Wednesday) before the actual LSAT on Saturday the 24th. But even then, is such a large drop on one PT normal? I am quite annoyed at myself for this drop, especially only two weeks away from the test.

Any information or tips would be helpful!

- a student looking for hope

[Dave Killoran]

Hey LSAT99.9,

Thanks for the question! This one-off drop should not be much of a concern for you, fortunately. First, you have an alteration in your schedule that likely threw you off. That alone could cause the type of drop you experienced. Second, it's unavoidable that you will encounter some fluctuations. I talked about this with another student on this forum, and in a reply I wrote that if you have been practicing at a higher level and then see a sudden drop, it's usually down to one or more of a few things:

• 1. Something about the particular LSAT. In other words, a Casino Effect.
  
  2. Something that happened externally at or before the test, such as some of these factors. As we know, you have one of these factors with the time change, and so this box is checked.
  
  3. Some type of pressure or anxiety issue. This is perhaps the biggest problem for high-level testers, and is often the culprit when there's a fairly large drop from practice scores that were consistently higher. However, in this instance, since this wasn't the real exam, it's unlikely this was the cause. If you feel as if it did play a role, then check out some of our test mentality resources.

These things have happened to other students of mine who then went on to score quite well, and they still were able to get back to their "normal" score. At this point, you've shown you can consistently score in the 168 range, and that doesn't happen by accident. So, when you see a drop like this out of the blue, the most likely explanation is that it was not a fundamental problem but rather chance, the time change, or just something odd about this particular LSAT. Regardless of the cause, the silver lining is that this happened today—two weeks before the test—as opposed to on test day. I would not overemphasize this or worry about it too much, and would instead attempt to draw any info out of these results that you can.

You asked for hope, and to me there's plenty of hope here: you've already proven on multiple occasions that you can score around a 168, so take that to the bank and focus on your next PT. And when you do take that next PT, remember to relax and not think about past performances. Just handle the test in front of you and maintain the confidence that you normally have.

Please let me know how that goes, and good luck!