The Uniform Bar Exam Saves The Day In Another Jurisdiction

Wow! These are the highest pass rates in recent history for the nation's capital.

onNovember 3, 2016 at 1:02 PM

bar exam passed When it comes to states that have recently adopted the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), we’ve seen varying results. In New Mexico, July 2016 passage rates plummeted, while in New York, July 2016 passage rates soared — at least compared to the state’s passage rates in July 2015, which were the worst in at least 35 years. How did things turn out in Washington, D.C., which administered the exam in its new format for the first time this summer?

Just like what happened in New York, the results looked much better in D.C. thanks to the UBE. According to the District of Columbia’s Committee on Admissions, 684 examinees sat for the test this summer — the highest number of examinees in quite some time. Of those examinees, 62 percent passed the D.C. bar exam. The overall pass rate for first-time takers was 71 percent. These are tremendous gains from July 2015, where 296 examinees sat for the exam with an overall pass rate of 39.1 percent, and a pass rate for first-time takers of 53.8 percent. The District’s July 2016 results under the UBE represent the highest pass rates in recent history for the nation’s capitol.

As we noted when we spoke of New York’s uptick in bar passage, law schools must not rely on the UBE to pump up their bar passage statistics for students who entered law school with otherwise lackluster credentials. Just because the UBE may be easier to pass than prior state iterations of the test, it is no excuse to keep admitting students whose performance and success on the bar exam may be questionable at best. Admissions standards must be raised to continue on this pathway to success.

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At the end of the day, there’s just one question left to be asked when it comes to the Washington, D.C.’s adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam: Would Hillary Clinton have been able to pass the test in this new format? The world may never know.

Earlier: The Bar Exam: A List of Famous Failures

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.