"My practice test score was a fluke" (usually not)

Practice test scores are very predictive of real GRE performance, and genuine flukes are rare. After seeing thousands of student scores, it's extremely uncommon for someone to hit a 164 on practice and then be unable to get something similar on the real test. More often, a surprising low score is actually a signal about mindset, pacing, or approach that's worth investigating rather than dismissing.