At a Glance:
- The aspiring lawyers from the states of New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania have reported a sharp fall in the pass rate for the February exam.
- New York is among the largest bar exam jurisdiction and February’s pass rate has fallen to 45% from 49% last year.
- The national average score for the Multistate Bar Exam dropped by 1.4 points.
The lawyers are witnessing a season of disappointment as the aspiring lawyers from the states of New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania have reported a sharp fall in the pass rate for the February exam.
By far 12 states have reported that the pass rate has fallen from a year ago on the attorney licensing exam. Only 6 of the states saw a modest increase and 2 states matched the pass rate in 2021.
Lawyers failing the bar exam
New York is among the largest bar exam jurisdiction and February’s pass rate has fallen to 45% from 49% last year.
Florida’s pass rate had declined to 43% in February as compared to 47% last year. Whereas, Pennsylvania has reported a fall of 37% from 51% a year ago. Only half of North Carolina examinees have passed down from 60% last year.
On the contrary, few of the states have shown improved results. Illinois has reported a 1% increase in pass rate making it to 43%, while North Dakota’s result has increased to 68% this year from 55% in 2021. West Virginia has reported a 56% pass rate which has surged by eight percent this year.
Comments on attorney licensing
The National Conference of bar examiners designs the national components of the attorney licensing exam. The national average score for the Multistate Bar Exam dropped by 1.4 points to 132.6 which has been the all-time low reached on the February 2020 exam.
The National Conferences’ director of assessment and research, Rosemary Reshetar pointed out that the score tends to jump from year to year and there is nothing to read much into it. He added, “A number of factors may be at play in this year’s results.”
Apart from Nevada, all the February 2022 bar examinees appeared for an in-person exam. In 2021, only 16 jurisdictions administered an in-person exam while the others opted for a remote test due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
