How many questions can you miss and still get into the harder second section?

There's no published cutoff, and ETS makes small statistical adjustments between test forms, so the threshold can shift slightly. Generally, 2 or fewer errors in Section 1 will get you into the harder second section, while 3 or 4 errors (depending on the test) will likely drop you to the moderate second section.

Either way, your goal is the same: get as many questions right as you can in every section you see. The two paths overlap more than people think. You can reach scores as high as about 161 without seeing the harder second section (if you just miss the cutoff and then do extremely well on the moderate section), and you can score well below that in the harder section if you struggle there.