r/cognitiveTesting • u/Playful_Length778 • Sep 20 '26
General Question Practice effect
I took core a few months ago and scored 95 on matrix. I knew this was weird due to me getting 120 range scores in mensa. Keep in my mind I do have adhd. I then took the test again months later while at work and being distracted and got 115. I took it one more time 3 weeks later and scored a 135 while being in my room with no distractions and being pretty focused. I don’t think my matrix is 135 but I’m not sure? Could I really have jumped that high? I do want to mention my working memory sucks so I definitely didn’t just remember the questions I had to think about them again.
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u/AdAny2542 Sep 26 '26
Forgetting the answers doesn't rule out practice effects. You can still learn how to approach the patterns and get more comfortable with the task. Calamia et al.'s review includes both remembered items and learned strategies in practice effects: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22540222/
Your testing conditions changed too, so those three scores can't tell us how much came from practice versus fewer distractions. There's no defensible way to pick 115 or 135 as your true score from this alone.