LSAT and Law School Admissions Forum

Get expert LSAT preparation and law school admissions advice from PowerScore Test Preparation.

Ask questions about our company, courses, books, and tutoring.
User avatar
 Taylor Montgomery
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: May 18, 2021
|
#87155
Hi all,

I am in a live online class and we are supposed to be taking practice tests to build endurance and gauge our progress but there appear to be 3 versions of each test: 3-Section, 3-Section+Experimental, and 4-Section. I assume we are not taking each practice test 3 times so which version should I be taking? I that dependent on what form of the actual LSAT we are taking? I am going to take the August LSAT if that information is useful in determining which test I should be taking.

Thanks in advance for your clarification!
-TaylorM
 Adam Tyson
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 5153
  • Joined: Apr 14, 2011
|
#87162
Great question, TaylorM! Your test in August will be 3 scored sections plus an experimental, so that's what I would recommend you take most of the time. However, if you are short on time but still want to take a PT, a 3 section test without the experimental would be fine. Think of the 4 section tests as legacy tests, as they provide just the 4 scored sections of prior released tests. You can take them to get extra LR practice if you like, since the "extra" section on those will always be a 2nd LR section.
User avatar
 Taylor Montgomery
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: May 18, 2021
|
#87167
Adam Tyson wrote: Tue May 18, 2021 3:47 pm Great question, TaylorM! Your test in August will be 3 scored sections plus an experimental, so that's what I would recommend you take most of the time. However, if you are short on time but still want to take a PT, a 3 section test without the experimental would be fine. Think of the 4 section tests as legacy tests, as they provide just the 4 scored sections of prior released tests. You can take them to get extra LR practice if you like, since the "extra" section on those will always be a 2nd LR section.
Thanks so much! Off to the tests I go.
 JReztap
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: May 30, 2023
|
#102491
Why is there a discrepancy between the tests and which one should I take as more "accurate?" For example, I completed one of the tests as a 4-section, and scored 166, which is around the score I want to aim for and is very encouraging. I then took my answers from that and put them into the 3 section + experimental just for fun (curious minds and all), and I only scored a 163, which although good, I would obviously prefer the 166. I will be writing my exam in August, and am really trying to close the last few points from where I am to where I want to be, and I'm just trying to figure out which is going to be more accurate. Thanks for any insight!
User avatar
 Stephanie Oswalt
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 803
  • Joined: Jan 11, 2016
|
#102505
JReztap wrote: Sat Jul 22, 2023 5:01 pm I then took my answers from that and put them into the 3 section + experimental just for fun (curious minds and all), and I only scored a 163
Hi! Where did you input the answers into the 3-section + experimental?

Thanks!
 JReztap
  • Posts: 2
  • Joined: May 30, 2023
|
#102510
Stephanie Oswalt wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 9:59 am
JReztap wrote: Sat Jul 22, 2023 5:01 pm I then took my answers from that and put them into the 3 section + experimental just for fun (curious minds and all), and I only scored a 163
Hi! Where did you input the answers into the 3-section + experimental?

Thanks!


Hi! So I took the PrepTest 69 I believe, where I did it as the 4 section test and scored the 166 on it. Then because I wasn't sure if I should be doing the 4 section or 3 section + experimental, and I was wondering how the tests differed, I put my answers from the 4 section test and just copied them into the 3 section + experimental and got a 163.
User avatar
 Stephanie Oswalt
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 803
  • Joined: Jan 11, 2016
|
#102522
JReztap wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2023 3:41 pm Hi! So I took the PrepTest 69 I believe, where I did it as the 4 section test and scored the 166 on it. Then because I wasn't sure if I should be doing the 4 section or 3 section + experimental, and I was wondering how the tests differed, I put my answers from the 4 section test and just copied them into the 3 section + experimental and got a 163.
Got it. :) I first wanted to make sure you were inputting the answers in the correct scoring template.
Assuming all the answers match (no mis-bubbles) then the reason for the score discrepancy is likely because you performed better on the second LR (the one that was not scored in the 3-1), so your score was adjusted for this: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/scale.

Thanks!

Get the most out of your LSAT Prep Plus subscription.

Analyze and track your performance with our Testing and Analytics Package.