Saving new tests for last? Forum

[DC_Patent_Law]

Hey guys, so I started off with the really olds tests from the 90's. I was first scoring in the mid 150's and then in the 160's with these so I was pretty psyched (yay improvement!). Then I took some tests from 2005 onwards and it dropped back to mid 150's

What I noticed was that the recent tests in the late 2000's have much harder choices on the LR (i.e. they are either really similar looking answer choices or are cleverly/abstractly worded choices which sucks up time). The games are much more hybrid in nature and the RC questions are a lot more difficult with a lot of stregnthen/weaken/assumption question types instead of straight up inference questions.

So, I was planning on saving the late 2000's tests for september practice but I think its a good idea to iron out these weaknesses right now by taking these asap instead of waiting till september and finding out that I am not used to these types of answer choices. Good idea? Bad idea? Ugly idea?

thanks.

[EarlCat]

Not going to make or break you either way. If you'd feel more comfortable hitting some of the more recent questions now, go for it.

[DC_Patent_Law]

Thanks Earl. I'm curious why you don't think there is a difference between the old and new tests? If I was scoring -5 LR with the old ones and am now -10, isn't that indicative that I'm not really in tune with the new tests?

[freestallion]

Definitely make sure you take all the tests in the 50s to present.

Personally, I mixed in a few of the old and the new. For example, I'd do some tests in the 40s and some in the 50s on different days, in the last month/month and a half before the test.

I started with the very earliest prep tests in the 20s, just to get familiarized with the test and practice.

I found the 30s to be very easy, and the 40s to be medium in difficulty. I found the 50s to be MORE difficult on average, but this is just me.

The reason was: the reading comp got much harder for me. I found the LR and the games to be similar, though the games may even have been slightly easier (except for the dinosaurs and stained glass games...)

I'd recommend definitely doing everything in the 50s, and mixing in older ones as appropriate.

[yngblkgifted]

I'd save the newest of the new tests in September (2008 - present). You should be on 2005-2008 by now. There are trends in the tests. I believe that the games were harder in the 90's with easier LR and the RC has probably stayed the most consistent of all of the three sections. I always sucked at RC, so if there was a variation of difficulty, I barely noticed. Get used to the way the newer tests operate and get very familiar with them because your scores on newer tests (50's and 60's) will be more indicative of how you will do in October. Good luck!

[83947368]

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[DC_Patent_Law]

Yeah the LR's definitely get more abstract, but I wouldn't necessarily say harder. I think maybe you are a little psyched out by them because they aren't quite as user friendly as the older ones.

I did all old tests with a couple newer ones every now and then for reference but mostly in order until the six weeks before the test when I really started in on the newer ones.

You won't hurt yourself on focusing on the old ones first provided you have time to go through all the newer ones. These really are the important ones.

I've done about 15 of the old ones. I have done 6 of the new ones (testmasters course). I'm doing the newer ones now because I'd rather be hit with reality now rather then in september when the dogs are at the door. Me and my buddy were high fiving each other on our 165's (PT 30's) until we realized we are really at a 155 level (PT 55) ROFL.

Q: I'd rather repeat the latest 15 tests twice vs. doing the older ones from the 90's. Does that make sense?

[83947368]

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[DC_Patent_Law]

Repeating logical reasoning and reading comprehension has massively diminishing values. You will remember the answers. I'd say take a few in the 45-50 range and use those to get acclimated to the newer LRs. But not to sweat the differences in the older ones, they still teach you valuable lessons.

I totally agree. I forgot to mention that I've seen a ton of the material from the 30's and 40's tests when I did my testmasters class. So when I do the older tests, I see a lot of repeat material. That was another reason I wanted to switch to the newer tests. Maybe do drills on the older tests and take the newer ones in entirety?

Also, I spend like 8-10 hours reviewing each and every question till I'm sick of the damn thing. Might be overdoing it.

[83947368]

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[EarlCat]

Thanks Earl. I'm curious why you don't think there is a difference between the old and new tests? If I was scoring -5 LR with the old ones and am now -10, isn't that indicative that I'm not really in tune with the new tests?

It's not that there's no difference. There's just not a big enough of one to make me worry too much about it. The skills it takes to master the older tests are the exact same ones for mastering the new ones.

Repeating logical reasoning and reading comprehension has massively diminishing values. You will remember the answers.

You don't repeat questions just to see if you can get the right answer.