Lowered bar pass cut scores mean better bar pass rates in 4 states
Of the five states that lowered the minimum score required for passing the bar last year, four of them had increases in their February 2024 bar passage rates, according to the latest data compiled by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. (Image from Shutterstock)
Of the five states that lowered the minimum score required for passing the bar last year, four of them had increases in their February 2024 bar passage rates, according to the latest data compiled by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Each state sets its own passing scores for the Uniform Bar Examination. In 2023, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Pennsylvania and Utah each lowered cut scores.
For this February’s exam, Idaho had the biggest jump in bar pass rates of that group, reaching 54%, up from 36% in February 2023. The Idaho Supreme Court ordered the drop to 270 from 272 in June 2023.
Pennsylvania hit 48%, up from 44% in February 2024, after the passing score was lowered from 272 to 270 in December 2023.
Arizona, where the passing score decreased three points in October 2023 from 273 to 270, had a 46% overall pass rate in February 2024, compared to 41% in February 2023.
The Utah Supreme Court dropped the passing score 10 points in June 2023 from 270 to 260. In February 2024, 66% test-takers passed, up from 65% in February 2023.
However, Alaska, which lowered its passing score 10 points in February 2023 from 280 to 270, had its pass rate for overall test-takers decrease to 42% in February 2024, compared to 75% in February 2023.
At press time, the NCBE information did not have full reported results for several of the 56 jurisdiction from the February 2024 exam. There were 19,496 test-takers in February, according to the information gathered by the NCBE.
The top states overall for February 2024 bar pass rates come from Utah and Virginia, each with 66%, according to the NCBE. North Dakota and Montana follow with 61% and 60%, respectively. The lowest overall pass rates were in Alabama, with 32%; Maine, with 35%; Maryland and Wisconsin, with 36%; and Michigan and Connecticut, with 37%.
The February bar pass rates often are lower than the July administration, says Rosemary Reshetar, the NCBE’s director of psychometrics and operations.
“We tend to have a lot more repeat test-takers in February,” she says. “Most people who are really at the top of the performance level can pass on their first try.”
In California, the February test that happened at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, drew many complaints, with some saying the indoor arena was too cold for them to function well.
“No such impact was found,” wrote Leah Wilson, executive director of the State Bar of California, in a May 3 press release.
Of the 3,944 California applicants for the February 2024 exam, 34% passed, according to the NCBE, with 45% of first-timers making the cut, comparable to the February 2023 rates of 33% overall and 45% for first-timers, according to the NCBE. The July 2024 exam will not use the Cow Palace as a testing location, according to Wilson in the press release.
New York, where 3,962 examinees took the February 2024 test, had a 42% pass rate for all test-takers. But for first-time test-takers who graduated from ABA-accredited schools, the pass rate was 71%, according to the New York State Board of Law Examiners.
In Florida, the overall pass rate for February 2024 was 41%, up from 39% in February 2023.
To be in compliance with the ABA’s Standard 316, law schools need their graduating class to have a bar pass rate of at least 75% within two years of graduation.
Only one law Florida school—the Florida International University College of Law— hit above 75% for first-time test-takers, with 82.6% passing, according to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Meanwhile, two law schools in the state had a first-time pass rate below 20%: Neither of the Florida Coastal School of Law’s two test-takers passed, and only one of the Ave Maria School of Law’s six examinees passed.
The national mean score on the Multistate Bar Examination is 131.8, which is up more than 0.6 points compared to the February 2023 mean of 131.1; however, it is still lower than its February 2020 level of 132.6, according the NCBE.
Additionally, national mean scores on the March 2024 Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, which measures a student’s understanding of professional conduct standards, hit 97.1, which is 2.2 points higher than the March 2023 mean of 94.9. In March 2024, 21,029 examinees took the exam, which is required for admission to the bar.
