score decreased on practice test

[nishantdoshi]

on the 17th of last month i took MGMAT practice test 1 and I scored 510 which is sufficiently low but was better than the Gmat prep test i took 2 weeks earlier on which i scored 460.
but now on the 18th of November i.e. today i took another MGMAT practice test and surprisingly my score and decreased back to 460, i was devastated when i looked at my score, its as if I've wasted 1 complete month of my precious study time,which has lead me to nothing. i seriously dont know what is going on.
i REALLY REALLY need help with this.
Please

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

on the 17th of last month i took MGMAT practice test 1 and I scored 510 which is sufficiently low but was better than the Gmat prep test i took 2 weeks earlier on which i scored 460.
but now on the 18th of November i.e. today i took another MGMAT practice test and surprisingly my score and decreased back to 460, i was devastated when i looked at my score, its as if I've wasted 1 complete month of my precious study time,which has lead me to nothing. i seriously dont know what is going on.
i REALLY REALLY need help with this.
Please

Score fluctuations are perfectly natural, even after you've been studying for some time. Take the emotion out of the process if you can. The goal of a practice test isn't to delight ourselves with the number that flashes on the screen when we're done, it's to evaluate how our strategies are working for us, and to contemplate what strategic adjustments we can make. So go over your old practice exams and take notes. If there are conceptual areas that require some work, be mindful of that. If there were opportunities to use simple strategies instead of doing complex algebra, that's important to note. If timing was an issue, that's something you'll want to address. Post anything you're unsure about here. Once you feel like you've fully absorbed the lessons of your old practice tests, then take another one. (And make the next one an official test.) Know that some days will be better than others but that if you're learning and refining your test-taking skills, your time is well spent, irrespective of what number happens to flash on the screen at the end of a practice exam. Wash/rinse/repeat. The improvements will come.

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Hi nishantdoshi,

Most practice CATs will give you the score that you've EARNED, so you have to review this CAT to determine where you might have made some mistakes. Do you know WHY you were getting questions wrong? How many of those incorrect answers were because of a silly/little mistake?

A 460 isn't actually that far from a 510, so the difference might have come down to just a few correct answers (or correct answers on certain questions).

1) How long have you been studying?
2) What resources have you been using?
3) What is your score goal?
4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich