Score dropping from 175 to 170/171 Forum

[mydogjake]

Hi Everyone,

So I was consistently getting 175s on practice tests (like 5 in a row) up until a few days ago, and recently my score has been dropping to 170/171. I'm nervous because its so close to the test date! Can anyone who has been scoring in this range tell me if this is normal/ what I can do to try to remedy it, if anything??

Today on my practice test that I got a 170 on, I got -0 on LG, -5 (total) on LR, and -5 on RC. Normally I get about -3 on LR and -2 or -3 on RC. Should I put most of my focus into doing practice LR and RC sections this next week in lieu of doing more full-length tests?

Helppp please & thank you

[Jeffort]

Relax, this is not unusual and is no reason to panic or drastically change anything. It was only what 5-6 more questions wrong than usual, so it's not like you suddenly lost skills or knowledge. Just thoroughly review those mistakes to figure out in as much detail as possible what went wrong to lead to each incorrect answer, why it happened, and how you could have prevented it.

Don't suddenly switch your study plan, keep taking practice tests on a healthy schedule since test day is close. Don't get surprised or upset by fluctuations in the 170s range on additional practice tests, its normal to fluctuate in that range because the scale reflects and magnifies minor performance differences at the very top when approaching near perfect.

Also, if you have been hitting it hard with PTs, drilling, and studying over the last few weeks, especially if you've been doing a lot of PTs in the last week or two, you might be due for a one day break. LSAT over saturation can lead to a few more mistakes than usual and sudden decline in performance but is easily fixed with a short LSAT break for your system to mildly decompress before heading into the final stretch.

One big sign of LSAT over saturation is when common sense starts to fail you when interpreting stuff in the arguments/stimulus and you totally overlook the duh obvious common sense interpretation of what is being talked about that is crystal clear without critical thinking. Such as it not clicking that a question talking about seafood, bacteria and a medical study of people that got sick after eating at a restaurant is about food poisoning from spoiled seafood (question never uses the phrase food poisoning) and failing to realize that 'seafood' was not referring to a single particular item on the restaurants menu and saying everyone ate that same dish, rather it was just a description of the category of several different food items on the menu being served at the 'seafood restaurant' that refers to many different things like fish, shellfish, shrimp, etc., any one of which could have been the spoiled one that made people who ate it sick while the others that ate some other type of seafood were safe.

When common sense fails in ways like this when interpreting stuff, you are getting LSAT common sense blindness and need a day off LSAT tunnel thinking for a reality refresher in the real world to get your bearings back so you don't overlook really obvious things, meanings and interpretations while tunneling away splitting logical hairs looking for a flaw, an assumption or whatever.

[jk148706]

I had the same issue. I was 175+ (including one 180) during a span of several tests, then went 174, 173, 172, 171. I took two days off and yesterday I hit 177. So maybe you just need a day off or so.

[mydogjake]

Thank you for your replies! Very helpful

[Nonconsecutive]

Yes, never underestimate the value of a day or two off. ESPECIALLY this close to the test date.

[retaking23]

Ditto to person who said review mistakes, however few you have, thoroughly. This key to 172+ imo.