I am the primary applicant as my wife's IELTS score is on the low side and also she has only 3 yrs experience with a 1.5yr gap in between.
My first IELTS score was (LRWS) 9-9-7-6.5, which got me a CRS of 392. Retook the test again to score 9-8.5-6.5-7, but the CRS still was the same.
When I compared the distribution of score with the IELTS, I realised that a 0.5 decrease in W or S is decreasing the CRS score by almost 40 points.
With no other choice, I retook again a third time and got 8.5-8.5-7-7. This boosted my score to 436. I was dejected that the cutoff increased from 433 to 438 in the Oct 4th draw. I was hopeful of getting picked in that draw, but didn't happen. Now I am sure that the next draw will be the one.
BTW, I have an additional 15 points because of sibling in Canada.