How to do you judge progress... Forum

[mvonh001]

when you only have retakes to do when studying? For example, I took PT 60 about 2 months ago and probably score around a 162, yet I retook it last weekend and got 172. I didn't remember any questions explicitly - meaning, I didn't see a questions and know which answer it was before even reading them, but I am sure that me seeing the questions before had some influence on my score...

[Otunga]

when you only have retakes to do when studying? For example, I took PT 60 about 2 months ago and probably score around a 162, yet I retook it last weekend and got 172. I didn't remember any questions explicitly - meaning, I didn't see a questions and know which answer it was before even reading them, but I am sure that me seeing the questions before had some influence on my score...

I think, in most cases, it may help someone a little bit with timing. Like perhaps you can process the information better due to seeing it before. Just my speculation.

But personally, I saw most of the PT1-38 LR questions twice through drilling, and didn't sense that seeing them again had anything to do with getting more right the second time. After all, the first time I saw them, it was early in my prep when I didn't know what I was doing. And the second time I saw them, I had read MLSAT LR and had a much greater understanding of the questions.

[SteelPenguin]

when you only have retakes to do when studying? For example, I took PT 60 about 2 months ago and probably score around a 162, yet I retook it last weekend and got 172. I didn't remember any questions explicitly - meaning, I didn't see a questions and know which answer it was before even reading them, but I am sure that me seeing the questions before had some influence on my score...

I have struggled with this too, especially now that I am going over many tests and questions for a third time. For the most part, the only thing that really seemed to skew my scores would be timing and sometimes one or two questions in a test that I had thoroughly reviewed in the past. However, I realize that if I finish a LR section in 35 minutes as a retake, I'm probably going too slow. Generally, I'm pleased with a retake if I score a couple points above my minimum acceptable score.

I think RC sections are somewhat tainted though. At least for me, I can often recall the basics of a passage. This throws off my perception of timing as well as my ability to gauge progress. The only way I've been able to combat this is to work on the material I haven't seen in the longest. Have you been having RC retake problems?

[the_pakalypse]

I had to retake a majority of my tests too (PT 45-65).

I wasn't happy with anything less than 180. Even with a 180 I always had this lingering fear in my mind that I was lying to myself.

I took 3 new tests (starting 3 months before the test, each every month). I got 171, 173, 177.

By the time I got the 177, I knew I had everything down cold except LG (where I lost my 3 points). Ended up with a 180 on the real thing.

Moral of the story? Not sure if there is one.. but I'd suggest not aiming for less than perfection on retakes. You've seen the material, you've made the mistakes, you should have learned from them or your review was shitty. Also, one thing I'd recommend is noticing if you are becoming lazier/more efficient in the retakes -- which is an excellent habit to pick up. On my first time around everything seemed so novel and difficult and I over thought everything. The second time, however, I guess I had the confidence that nothing was going to be too strange, so I just focused on the easiest method to get to the answer (while still being reliable and accurate). I realized LR was way easier than I made it out to be.

[melmoththewanderer]

Moral of the story? Not sure if there is one.. but I'd suggest not aiming for less than perfection on retakes.

This is golden, my friend.