Lack of Prep-test improvement and worsening scores

[KevinM596]

Hello,

I began the LSAT interact course over a month ago and I just (today) finished session 5 and the digital practice test that is scheduled for the end of that section. I got the same exact score I got on my initial, diagnostic test over four weeks ago (no studying at all) and actually did worse than the practice test I took a few weeks ago. I am nowhere near the score I need and not seeing progress is really disheartening. I have been studying around 3-4 hours/day for ~5 days/week. I am scheduled for the test this August 29th, which will likely be an LSAT remote flex test.

Would love for anyone to share any experiences that seem familiar or for any tips on how to study more effectively, improve my score, or seek out other resources that will allow me to improve my score.

[Laura Damone]

First thing: this is a REALLY common situation to be in half way through a course. Close to half of my students don't start seeing consistently higher test scores until the final third of their preparation. Why? Because changing the way you think takes time, and executing all those changes in a testing scenario takes practice. By session 5, you've spent one month learning and changing your thinking, but have only practiced executing those changes in a testing scenario twice. That's just not a big enough sample from which to assess your progress. As disheartening as it is, it is NOT indicative of a problem.

Now, if I were coaching you, I'd want to know some more specifics:

When you do a problem set, how does your accuracy compare to your accuracy in the testing scenario? Does you accuracy go down when you test, vs. when you practice?

When you do practice sets, do you practice timed? Or is the practice test the only time you're under pressure from the clock?

How does your accuracy on question/game types that you've covered in Interact compare to those that you haven't covered yet?

If your buddy asked you to teach them how to do sufficient assumption questions, necessary assumption questions, flaw questions, strengthen and weaken questions, relative ordering games, basic ordering games, and 3D ordering games, could you do it? Can you tell how to ID the question/game type, what that means for how you engage with the prompt/stimulus, how to predict the right answer, and what questions to ask yourself as you evaluate the answers provided? A good way to gauge this, if you don't have a friend dying to learn about the LSAT with you, would be to look at Appendix A of the 5lb Book of LSAT Practice Drills. In it, you'll find a blank and a filled-in "Cheat Sheet" for each game and LR question type. Use the blank sheet as a quiz. Fill in what you can. Then check your work against the filled-in sheet. How different are they?

Often, folks who are totally new to this test need two passes through the material before it all comes together. You've got plenty of time before August, so don't be afraid to go back through those earlier lessons and solidify your foundation now.

And if you want a pro to weigh in on your exact situation and help you ID areas to focus on, you can always add some coaching to your Interact package. It's two one-on-one sessions with an instructor, spread over your program, and it can really help you spot patterns in your performance and chart a course accordingly.

Hope this helps!
Laura Damone