Practice Question Scores (NOT Tests) and Cumulative Practice

LeChiffre

Greetings,

I have reviewed study sessions 1 and 2 and completed 50 practice questions (Schweser Q-Bank) from each one once I finished the section. My scores have been as follows:

Ethics: 72%
Quant: 76%

I'm not sure if I should be content or concerned with these scores. Any thoughts?

Also, I think I'm going to add a cumulative quiz to the end of each week so material doesn't go untouched for weeks on end. Example: a 10 question test with 5 ethics and 5 quant questions, then 15 questions with 5 each from ethics, quant, and the next, and so on. Anyone have success with that method?

All thoughts are appreciated. Shoot it to me straight.

Thanks,

John

WesMantooth

Sounds like it is super early in the game, but I'd say you are on the right track with that plan and starting scores. When I did L1 I had a similar plan to start with, to do cumulative review quizzes, but that quickly fell apart halfway due to time constraints. If you keep it up you are likely to have it made in the shade! Good luck!

mattyc

Its way to early to pay attention to you scores on Qbank.  Just stick to your plan and do not waver from the routine.  I wouldnt get caught up in the scores until 4-6 weeks out from the exam.

jmsatchwell

Like everyone is saying I wouldn't worry about scores until the final month. Also its important to realize that a ton more information is going to be thrown at you as you progress. Develop a plan of attack and don't get discouraged when you score in the 60's on your first full practice test

mitch895

As everyone has said.  With 5+ months to go I'd focus on getting through all the curriculum (and testing as you go) so that you know where your strong/weak areas are.  I.e., If two subjects are equally weighted and you're scoring 80% in one and 50% in the other (av. 65%), it's going to be easier to make incremental improvements through improving your low score than your high score (i.e., you *might* be able to get your 80% score to 90% on a good day, whereas a relatively small amount of work you may be able to get the 50% to 60%).  Good luck!

Nedo

am doing the same practice, first practice test always end with a low scores, try to add more Questions at the end of each one of the 10 materials ( am doing 60 question / test )

repeat the test again until you get 80% so you can get an indication that you are ready to move on to the next subject.

good luck     

LeChiffre

Also, just saw that I'm spending about 90 seconds per question while most others are spending closer to two and a half minutes. Perhaps some are using materials as they do the practice questions? I'm doing them blind.

Stuj79

90 seconds per question is the speed you should be aiming for at level 1 (if not slightly faster) as the exam has 120 questions per 3 hour sitting. So your speed seems about right to me. Perhaps everyone else is being slow

Nedo

I observe in the lase exam that the time is not really a big problem, sure you have to improve your timing but there is so many questions that doesn't need calculations so you don't need more than 30 second to figure out the answer

last exam I end up with around half an hour earlier..   

LeChiffre

I fell victim to "clicking through" too many questions and am letting that poor score give me a negative outlook, in some cases nearly 2 minutes faster than the average time. Need to focus on material and not so much scores for the moment.

hairyfairy

LeChiffre said:

I fell victim to "clicking through" too many questions and am letting that poor score give me a negative outlook, in some cases nearly 2 minutes faster than the average time. Need to focus on material and not so much scores for the moment.

Completely agree. I really prefer paper questions. You miss out on analytics etc, but there are a lot of other issues associated with electronic formats. After all, the actual exam will be on paper so better to prepare that way...

Lollypolly

@LeChiffre, I had a similar plan to yours but on to FRA now and my plan has fallen to pieces, I figured if I was getting 70-80% I would move on the next subject and once I start practice exams I could determine my overall weak areas and work on those for the final month.

Feeling a bit underwhelmed at my own performance though and its very disheartening. I keep complaining to my OH and he keeps telling me I'll be fine (which makes me want to hurt him) I don't feel like I'll be fine at all. I think my attitude is having a negative effect on my ability to actually remember the material because when I'm answering the questions, all sorts of things are going through my head, like I need to answer fast, how much time do I have left......is this the right answer. So many times I've changed my answer to a wrong one because I'm over thinking and complicating things.

Sorry that turned into a bit of a rant......

LeChiffre

@Lollypolly, don't be disheartened. I switched from 50 question practices at the end of a study session to two 25's or one 25 if it is a short section. I review all 25 questions, then take the second practice. This helps me focus on getting the questions right, as 50 FRA questions in a row can be a bit much. Focusing on learning and absorbing has helped as opposed to treating every set of practice questions as a matter of life and death.

Lollypolly

@LeChiffre‌ that actually sounds like a really good and very do-able idea. Sometimes all you need is a little perspective - I'll give it a try tonight