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How do people go about making tests they've taken before useful in studying? Sometimes I re take tests and know the answers to difficult questions, making their scores have an asterisk on em.

No harm in getting the question correct twice--that's the point of studying. Personally, when I run into a question I've already done, I make sure I can explain why the answer is correct. How? I break down the question on paper then write the main point along with the flaw or the method of statement with the main conclusion of the stimulus. Bottom line: you're good to go when you can recite the reasoning behind the answer.

Pattern Recognition hth

Try to make sure enough time has elapsed between doing it the first time and doing it the second time so that the answer doesn't automatically pop into your head. I found, when retaking PTs this past September and early October that I had orginally done in May and early June, that there were very few I remembered.

Also, as ZVB said, really breaking apart why the correct answer is correct and the incorrect answers are incorrect (write it out!) is very helpful. This ensures that you're actually thinking through it and not just remembering the correct answer from having done it before.

And don't worry so much about the score...the point is to score well on the real thing, not gather a set of good practice scores!

I've also seen people suggesting giving yourself less time to complete PT you've already done. I'd say this should be scaled based on how much you remember

I penalized myself 2 min if I remembered reviewing a question extensively and a 1:30 if I got to the answer too quickly due to previous review.

I think it resulted in accurate PT scores - they were around my "fresh" test avg

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Unless you're getting a perfect on each retake, you have more to learn from them.