Big difference among practice tests

[DogsArePeopleToo]

I took a full-length Magoosh practice test (including both essays) and scored Q149 and V164. Two weeks and more prep work later, I took the PowerPrep I test and was surprised to see a far lower verbal score: 157 (quant remained the same). That drop is three points larger than the lower range Magoosh predicted for verbal.

The only reason I can think of to account for the big drop in verbal is making test five hours long by a foolish coincidence. I started taking the "demo" PowerPrep test thinking it was the real thing - that involved writing two full essays and answering about half a section's worth of verbal and quant questions. Then I realized my mistake and immediately started taking the real practice test, so I might have been exhausted.

But then again, why a drop in verbal and not math scores? A bit confused. I thought verbal was my strong suit.

Thanks for any insights.

[Nat15]

I noticed a huge change in my verbal score as well...compared to my Manhattan review (which I've taken 4 times already), I've gotten six points lower on my verbal score on the PPT. I don't know if Manhattan was completely inaccurate or the PPT/Manhattan system is off. Hopefully someone can help us to see what's going on.