December 2007 PT (Abnormally Difficult) - Advice

[moshei24]

Hi!

I took the Dec 2007 PT on Friday, and again, for the third straight time scored a 162. I have some questions about the test in general.

First, I want to give you my breakdown by sections of the tests, and the difficulties of the sections, as they were extremely abnormal.

My breakdown by sections was as follows:
LR: 45/50
LG: 21/23
RC: 12/27 (I don't know how accurate this one is, because I actually got into a fight with my brother during the section which really worsened the lack of rhythm I already had in the section)
Experimental LR: 26/26 (although, I did misbubble two answers by mistake, but I'm counting them as correct, because I did have the correct answers for them)

Here's what really intrigued me about this test:
Difficulty breakdown of LR:
Level 1: 5/5
Level 2: 14/14 (although, I think it counted a 61% question as level 3 for some reason)
Level 3: 14/27
Level 4: 12/14
Difficulty breakdown of LG:
Level 1: 2/2
Level 2: 3/4 (the one I got wrong was the first question in a game, and looking back on it, I should have gotten it right... just messed up somehow - it wasn't actually a hard OR tricky question)
Level 3: 10/10
Level 4: 6/7
Difficulty breakdown of RC:
Level 1: 0/0
Level 2: 5/10
Level 3: 6/9
Level 4: 1/8


When I think back to these sections, I find it very odd because in the past, ther difficulties would be literally mirrored. Usually there are 4 level four questions in LR; this time there was 14. It's very odd. The experimental section was relatively easy, but I'm happy with all of them right.

The same goes for the other sections and their abnormal difficulty.

What does my scoring in LR and LG tell me about where I am in those sections given their relative difficulty? Especially after getting 9 LG wrong last test. What do I know now after doing this well in these abnormally hard sections? (There was even two level 4 questions in the first 10 questions off one of the LR sections - very odd.) But what do I know now about my performance in those two sections?

And how do I judge RC based on this test? Do I view it less critically because I had a major abnormal distraction during the section (fight with my brother), and the because it had no level 1 questions and an abnormal amount of harder questions? How do I view this section? I have been strongly considering hiring a private tutor, but what can this RC tell me?

All opinions and insight will be very much appreciated! Thank you very much!

-Moshe

[moshei24]

I'm taking a test tomorrow, so I would really appreciate some feedback on my last one ASAP, if it's possible, so I could be more prepared for tomorrow, especially given the unusual-ness of the Dec 2007 one.

Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

Lots of info here, moshei, but I think you already know the most important answer, and that's that your RC performance was obviously affected by that major distraction. The fact that this test appears to have been more difficult than most, and that you still maintained your steady score, should tell you that you are improving and on the right track. A couple of good lessons come out of this experience:

1) You now know that you can do well even when a major distraction comes along. Whether the a/c in your test center goes on the fritz, or the proctor's cell phone rings a few times, or someone sitting near you has major coughing fits, or, like happened to one of my students, a construction crew just outside the window starts using a jackhammer to tear up the parking lot, and it goes on like that for the entire test, you know that you can tune it out and move on. I know you don't want to do things in practice that you won't do on test day, but the fact is you really don't know WHAT will happen on test day. Try taking a practice test in the food court at the mall during lunchtime to build up your ability to focus and concentrate and tune out distractions, a crucial skill for high performers on this test.

2) Make sure your brother isn't going to be in that food court when you take that practice test.

Job well done - a fine score despite the odds being stacked against you. Go into your next practice test knowing that you are improving, and strive to keep that trend going.

By the way, as you seem to be doing really well at games, you might consider looking into some of the less-common game types, just to develop your game muscles a little further. Look in the supplemental materials for information on pattern games and mapping games. They haven't been used in a long time, but that doesn't mean they can't be resurrected, and they can help to further develop your ability to make good inferences and links between rules.

Adam

[moshei24]

Thank you, Adam.

Now that I'm back in school, ironically, I'm studying more.

I've noticed that there are many very difficult games in the second LG problem set. I've finished working through those, but I will definitely try to find time to take a look at those old kinds of games.

I'm thinking of taking the test tomorrow in the silent floor in my school's library. I feel that it's a nice simulation of the testing environment, because people are around, and they aren't having a free for all. But I do need to take one in a really noisy place at some point - preferably once I get close to my target score.

I'm not taking the test tomorrow until the afternoon, so I'm definitely going to get some practice in before then. Are there practice pattern and mapping games? Or only the information on them?

(Side thing: it was 14/17 on the level 3 LR, but I'm sure you realize that.)

Thanks for the help!

[Jon Denning]

There are so few Pattern and Mapping games in existence that it's virtually impossible, and arguably less than worthwhile, to have an entire section devoted just to them (there aren't enough games of those types to fill the section). I assume you've seen the virtual modules--a few for each type, actually--that cover those games and include several examples of each?

[moshei24]

I think I've come across them. Can you remind me which lesson they're in? And are they really worth going over?

Is the game about street lights a mapping game? It's in one of the LG problem sets.

[Jon Denning]

Mapping is covered in a few modules as part of a Lesson 6 supplement, and Pattern as part of a Lesson 7 supplement (online student center). Worth going over? Sure. I doubt you'll see one, but it can't hurt to be prepared and a number of the concepts involved are useful for other games as well.

There is a mapping game about lights on/off I believe around a park, so if that's what you're thinking of then yes.

[moshei24]

Oh, I remember that street lights question it was a fun one. You think it's worth going over mapping and pattern games before I have every other type of game down 100% cold?

[Jon Denning]

Sure - you'll notice overlap that will probably help you in other game types. Plus it's a nice change of pace/topic.

[moshei24]

Alright. Thanks, Jon!