Will the "new" Flex be harder than the current Flex?

[oychoi]

Hi Powerscore,

I am currently preparing for a retake in June. I scored a 166 in January and am now aiming for 170+. I am studying but am finding it difficult to close that final gap so I may need more time possibly. As a result, I am open for the August date as well.

My concern is this - starting with the August date, the LSAT transitions to the "new" Flex where there is an additional unscored section. But it seems it's still scored the same with 3 sections scored just as it currently is.

A lot of people and even tutors are expecting scores to normalize a bit as a result. But why so? If scores normalize, isn't the assumption then that getting a higher score would be more difficult?

Are they banking on test fatigue to lead to normalization or is the exam going to get harder?

I admittedly was one of the beneficiaries of the current Flex format because LR was my weakest section. As I push for 170+, I am wondering if I should just take in June to maximize this last opportunity if August is expected to be harder.

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Oychoi,

We've talked about this in-depth in recent podcasts, but the brief answer here is two-fold:

1. The extra section and the uncertainty naturally lend more difficulty to the exam. More questions to do and thus longer testing time will likely impact scores negatively.

2. No one knows if that added difficulty will offset the score bubble caused by the Flex. If it does, then I'd expect things stay the same. If it does not, then no one knows whether LSAC will adjust future scaling to compensate back down to offset the scoring bubble, of whether they will leave it as-is. We won't know for sure until we see the percentages after the exam.

Those two factors add up to a lot of uncertainty, regrettably. I tend to believe LSAC will let the chips fall where they may, and that scores will decr4ease a bit due to the added difficulty. But that won't be enough to offset the easier experience of the Flex+1, and so we will still see a scoring bubble, albeit a smaller one than this year.

Thanks!