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When did LSAC change the LSAT to make Reading Comp harder?

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 8:53 pm
by john2018
I've recently been told that LSAC, sometime in the early 2000s, changed the LSAT to make Reading Comp more difficult and Logic Games less difficult. First of all, is this true? If it is, when exactly did this occur? Do you know what exact year or test they first changed it on?

Thank you...

Re: When did LSAC change the LSAT to make Reading Comp harder?

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:02 pm
by chimera
Comparative Reading was added to the RC section in 2007 (iirc). However this didn't make the section more difficult, just different. Also, there is nothing to indicate that games has become easier since sometime in the 2000s.

Re: When did LSAC change the LSAT to make Reading Comp harder?

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:27 pm
by john2018
chimera wrote:Comparative Reading was added to the RC section in 2007 (iirc). However this didn't make the section more difficult, just different. Also, there is nothing to indicate that games has become easier since sometime in the 2000s.
so you would say Logic Games didn't change in difficulty between 1993-2014? and Reading Comp didn't change in difficulty either between 1993-2014?

Re: When did LSAC change the LSAT to make Reading Comp harder?

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:34 pm
by Oskosh
From my (admittedly limited knowledge) test sections don't get made 'harder' permanently. The structure of the test changes (if I recall, these changes only occur in June), which may make it incrementally difficult for you if you are sitting in on that test. The difficulty of a section just depends on luck of the draw, I guess. I've had some RC sections that I considered easy post-comparative reading, but some that were incredibly difficult (I'm looking at you, permanently reflective passage). As users above me have indicated, all that has changed was that in June (2007?), LSAC added a comparative reading section to the reading comprehension portion of the test.

Re: When did LSAC change the LSAT to make Reading Comp harder?

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:08 pm
by Louis1127
Starts with PT 2 with the waterbugs passage.

But seriously, people forget the old hard ones. I just took PT 49 with the infamous maize passage, where there is a shit ton of details about something I didn't know anything about: photosynthesis. When I finished that test, I thought to myself "That was a super hard passage. I don't think I've ever come across a passage that was that detail-heavy and seemed sure destruction fro anyone who does not have a science background".

But then I remembered the waterbugs passage, which was just like the maize passage. Detail heavy and there's no real debate going on, just a shit ton of scientific details. There was also one in PT 36 about homeostasis and blood. The exact same ball game.

The old RC sections are great prep material in my opinion.

Re: When did LSAC change the LSAT to make Reading Comp harder?

Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:09 pm
by dowu
If a RC section is difficult, or another section, they will compensate with a easier section elsewhere. I think. I could be wrong.

I definitely know they do this within sections.

Re: When did LSAC change the LSAT to make Reading Comp harder?

Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 10:41 am
by Toby Ziegler
Also the comparative passages in RC, at least in my estimation, was LSAC throwing us a bone. Those seem to be the easiest sections by far for me.