More practice tests won't fix a stuck LSAT score
Timing, careless misses, weak question types, burnout. Find yours on the board, tap it, and see the fix. Then watch where most of the lines run.
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See every note as a list
How you review
Where the points come back
How you review (Socratic Review Method)
Most stuck scores trace back here. A miss you only answer again comes back on the next test. A miss you take apart doesn't.
Watch the free lesson: the Socratic Review Method
- How you review turns a miss into a lesson, which takes the edge off test anxiety
Where the miss started
Every miss starts in 1 of 3 places: the argument or passage, the question, or the answer choices. Find which before anything else.
Watch the free lesson: the Socratic Review Method
- Where the miss started is the first question in real review
- Where the miss started comes before the pull of the wrong answer
The pull of the wrong answer
Wrong answers are built to attract. Name the exact words that drew you in, then say why they fail.
Play Too Far, a free wrong answer game
- The pull of the wrong answer gets named in real review
- The pull of the wrong answer has a twin in the right answer you passed on
The right answer you passed on
Right answers are often written to look bad. Say what made you pass on it, and why it works anyway.
Watch the free lesson: the Socratic Review Method
- The right answer you passed on gets explained in real review
A rule you can test
End every review with one specific line you can check on the next test. "Be more careful" doesn't count.
Down to 2 answers? Reread the question before I pick.
Watch the free lesson: blind review, done right
- A rule you can test is the last line of real review
- A rule you can test goes into a mistake journal
A mistake journal
A notebook or a sheet with a row for every miss. A pattern you never write down just repeats itself.
Watch the free lesson: the Socratic Review Method
- A mistake journal holds what you learn in real review
- A mistake journal shows you the same flaw twice
Blind review
Redo the question untimed, switch your answer, move on. Done that way, it's guessing more cleverly. The cause never gets named.
Watch the free lesson: blind review, done right
- Blind review stops short of real review
- Blind review never names the cause behind careless misses
Explanations too early
Reading an explanation feels productive. Reason the question out yourself first, or write your own explanation, then check.
Watch the free lesson: breaking a score plateau
- Explanations too early take the place of real review
- Explanations too early turn into a crutch, like prep-book flowcharts
Practice tests
More isn't the fix
Too many practice tests
Test after test just tells you what you already know. Fewer tests, reviewed in painful detail, move the score more.
Watch the free lesson: breaking a score plateau
- Too many practice tests crowd out real review
- Too many practice tests lead straight to running out of fresh tests
- Too many practice tests feed burnout
Too few full tests
3 isn't enough. Plan on at least 10 full timed tests before test day, and more if you want a top score.
Watch the free lesson: making every practice test count
- Too few full tests leave too little for real review
- Too few full tests leave room for test anxiety
Untimed scores
They don't count. Untimed work builds accuracy, but it can't tell you what you'd score.
Take a free timed practice test
- Untimed scores hide the timed gap
- Untimed scores aren't your real score
Skipping phases (LASER Approach)
Full tests before the basics puts the cart before the horse. Learn the question types untimed, then timed sections, then full tests.
Watch the free lesson: the LASER Approach
- Skipping phases usually means skipping real review
- Skipping phases leaves you with shaky basics
One change per test
Use each test to try a single change, like the order you take questions in. A test you only take for the score teaches you little.
Watch the free lesson: making every practice test count
- One change per test gets judged in real review
- One change per test beats something new on test day
Your real score
It's the average of your last 5 tests. Your best day was probably a fluke.
- Your real score needs a 5-point buffer
The clock
It isn't a speed problem
Running out of time
It's rarely slow reading. You're holding too much in your head at once, and reading faster makes that worse.
Watch the free lesson: speed isn't the problem
- Running out of time gets diagnosed in real review
The 30-second rule
If you're still confused after 30 seconds, flag it and move on. Come back if there's time.
- The 30-second rule is the first fix for running out of time
Confidence-based timing
Rate each question as you meet it: sure, maybe, or no idea. Go fast on the sure ones, work the maybes, and leave the rest for the end.
Watch the free lesson: confidence-based timing
- Confidence-based timing is the bigger fix for running out of time
- Confidence-based timing builds on the 30-second rule
Dwelling on a miss
Carry the last question into the next and you pay for it twice. Let it go and keep moving.
Watch the free lesson: test anxiety
- Dwelling on a miss leads to running out of time
- Dwelling on a miss gets worse with test anxiety
The timed gap
Drills go fine, but timed scores sit far below them. Stop the bite-sized drills and do timed sections and full tests.
Take a free timed practice test
- The timed gap often comes from drilling what you already know
- The timed gap closes with test-like practice
Weak spots
What you keep missing
Weak question types
Drill a weak type by itself, untimed, until the pattern feels familiar. Speed comes from familiarity.
Drill your weakest question type, free
- Weak question types can slide into drilling what you already know
Drilling what you already know
Know a type cold and still miss it timed? More drilling won't help. The problem is how you read, or how you handle pressure.
Watch the free lesson: the Socratic Review Method
- Drilling what you already know is your cue to switch to real review
The same flaw twice
Log which flaw you missed, not only which question. A few patterns sit behind most wrong answers.
Play Same Flaw, a free flaw game
- The same flaw twice gets spotted in real review
Shaky basics
If you're stuck in the 140s, it's the foundations. Start with assumptions, inferences, and the classic flaws.
See how the whole LSAT fits together
- Shaky basics sit under weak question types
The high-160s wall
Your basics are fine. You're missing hard questions because they're hard. It's an odd argument, a trap, pacing, or a tired brain.
- The high-160s wall comes down a miss at a time with real review
Predicting the answer (Prephrasing)
If you reread the argument after seeing the choices, you read it with no target. Know what the right answer has to do before you look.
Play Called It, a free prediction game
- Predicting the answer cuts rereading, which helps with running out of time
- Predicting the answer protects you from the pull of the wrong answer
Reading comp stalls
You're reading it like a literature assignment and memorizing details. Read for the main point, the structure, and the author's opinion.
Watch the free lesson: where your reading comp time goes
- Reading comp stalls break the same way, with real review
Highlighting everything
Mark everything and nothing stands out. Stick to who thinks what, and the evidence.
Watch the free lesson: stop highlighting
- Highlighting everything is one cause of reading comp stalls
Careless misses
A label isn't a cause
Careless misses
"Careless" is a label, and it doesn't say what happened. Name what you missed and why, and it stops being careless.
Watch the free lesson: blind review, done right
- Careless misses stop repeating after real review
Misreads
Don't stop at "I misread it." Which word, and why did you skip it? Keep asking until you wouldn't do it again.
Watch the free lesson: the Socratic Review Method for reading comp
- Misreads get traced to a single word in real review
- Misreads are most of what people call careless misses
Down to 2
The classic spot to lose a point. Go back and reread the question before you pick.
- Down to 2 calls for a rule you can test
The skipped word
Words like "some," "most," and "only" change the whole claim. Skip one and the wrong answer looks right.
Watch the free lesson: some, most, unless
- The skipped word is the usual story behind misreads
Mixing up views
Passages describe views the author doesn't hold. Mix them up and you'll pick the answer the author would reject.
Play Tone Check, a free author's view game
- Mixing up views is behind a lot of reading comp stalls
Test day
When practice scores don't show up
Test anxiety
A lot of anxiety is about uncertainty. The cure is preparation, meaning enough full timed tests that the real one feels familiar.
Watch the free lesson: test anxiety
The test-day drop
Scores often fall on test day when practice wasn't like the real thing. Loose timing and a phone on the desk make practice scores look better than they are.
- The test-day drop is why people ask about keep or cancel
Test-like practice
Strict timing, the official interface, no phone. Make practice feel like test day.
Take a free timed practice test
- Test-like practice takes the unknowns out of test anxiety
- Test-like practice shrinks the test-day drop
A 5-point buffer
Get your practice average 5 points above your goal before you sit. If you're below your goal, move to a later date.
Watch the free lesson: the final week
- A 5-point buffer covers the test-day drop
Comparing yourself
Someone online always scored higher, faster. Their timeline tells you nothing about yours.
Watch the free lesson: test anxiety
- Comparing yourself feeds test anxiety
Something new on test day
Don't try anything new on test day. Test changes in practice, where a bad result costs nothing.
Watch the free lesson: test-day mistakes
- Something new on test day invites the test-day drop
Your energy
More hours can cost points
Burnout
Scores dip when you're fried. Rest is part of the plan, and it doesn't mean you're slacking.
Watch the free lesson: how long to study
Too many hours
4 hours a day is plenty. Past about 6, you're mostly making yourself tired.
Watch the free lesson: how long to study
- Too many hours lead to burnout
Days off
Take them. And take a full rest day right before the test.
Watch the free lesson: the final week
- Days off are the cheapest fix for burnout
Fading late (Endurance)
Strong on single sections but lower on full tests? That's fatigue. More content study won't fix it.
Watch the free lesson: building endurance
- Fading late can look like the high-160s wall
Longer practice
Make some practice tests a little longer than the real one. It's like running a 6k before a 5k.
Watch the free lesson: building endurance
- Longer practice is the fix for fading late
Sleep and routine
Final-week drops usually come from unforced errors: bad sleep, too much caffeine, a changed routine.
Watch the free lesson: the final week
- Sleep and routine guard against the test-day drop
Your plan
What you study with, and for how long
Running out of fresh tests
Official tests are limited. A test you take and never review is mostly wasted, because you can't see it fresh again.
Get the free official practice tests by email
- Running out of fresh tests happens faster without real review
Unofficial questions
Practice on real LSAT questions only. Made-up ones have mistakes, and they teach the wrong instincts.
Watch the free lesson: which materials to use
- Unofficial questions aren't the answer to running out of fresh tests
Prep-book flowcharts
Step-by-step charts raise your drill scores, then break on hard questions. What holds up is understanding the argument.
Watch the free lesson: which materials to use
- Prep-book flowcharts break at the high-160s wall
Falling behind schedule
Depth beats staying on schedule. If you're short on time, move the test date. Don't cut review.
Watch the free lesson: the LASER Approach
- Falling behind schedule is no reason to cut real review
Too few months
Starting from scratch, plan on 5 to 6 months. With deep review from day one, 3 to 4 can do it.
Watch the free lesson: how long to study
- Too few months go further with real review
- Too few months are the usual reason for falling behind schedule
What to do next
After a score you don't like
A retake
Take it again, but study differently this time. The same prep gets the same score.
- A retake needs a change, starting with real review
Keep or cancel
Keep the score in most cases. Your gut feeling walking out is almost always wrong.
Watch the free lesson: cancel, keep, or retake
- Keep or cancel gets easier once you plan a retake
A second set of eyes
Some patterns are hard to see in your own work. Steve Schwartz has been coaching the LSAT since 2005, and he teaches every free lesson himself.
- A second set of eyes walks you through real review
- A second set of eyes is for when you hit the high-160s wall
Want the whole test on a few pages while you fix this? Get the free LSAT cheat sheet kit.
Questions people ask about a stuck LSAT score
Why is my LSAT score not improving?
Most often it's how you review. Taking more practice tests only measures the same habits again. Take each miss apart: did it start in the argument or passage, the question, or the answer choices? Then write a specific rule to test on the next one.
How do I break an LSAT score plateau?
Take fewer practice tests and review each one in more depth. Keep a mistake journal, look for the pattern behind your misses, and change a single thing on your next test so you can see what it did.
Should I take more practice tests if my LSAT score is stuck?
Usually not. Test after test tells you what you already know and uses up official material. Plan on at least 10 full timed tests before test day, and review every one of them deeply.
Why do I keep making careless mistakes on the LSAT?
"Careless" is a label. It doesn't tell you the cause. Find the exact word or step you skipped and why, then write a rule you can check, like rereading the question when you're down to 2 answers.
Why is my real LSAT score lower than my practice tests?
Usually because practice wasn't like test day. Use strict timing and the official interface, judge yourself by the average of your last 5 tests, and aim for a practice average 5 points above your goal.
