Bar Exams, California

California's Bar Exam Results Are Absolutely Abysmal

Nearly two-thirds of all test-takers failed the exam.

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Green California Road Sign with Dramatic Clouds and Sky.The results are in from the February 2017 administration of the California bar exam, and they are not pretty.

According to a press release from the State Bar of California, the overall passage rate for the February 2017 exam was 34.5 percent, while the passage rate for first-time takers was 39 percent. The passage rate for retakers was a shockingly low 33 percent. For the sake of comparison, let’s take a look at the results for the past few administrations of the California bar exam.

In February 2015, the overall passage rate was 39.5 percent, and the passage rate for first-time takers was 47.4 percent. In July 2015, the overall passage rate was 46.6 percent, and the passage rate for first-time takers was 60 percent. In February 2016, the overall passage rate was 35.7 percent, and the passage rate for first-time takers was 45 percent. In July 2016, the overall passage rate was 43 percent, and the passage rate for first-time takers was 56 percent.

As we’ve said repeatedly, this is a real problem, and for the first time, the State Bar’s Executive Director is commenting on the fact that it’s a problem in conjunction with the release of the exam results. Take a look at her statement:

“I’d like to congratulate the applicants who passed the Bar Exam,” said Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, Executive Director of the State Bar of California. “Regrettably the pass rate shows a continuing decline, a trend happening nationally. The State Bar is committed to a better understanding of the problem to determine how to address it.”

The State Bar is undertaking a series of studies into the bar exam. The initial phase of the standard setting study, which examines the cut score, begins on May 15.

UPDATE (05/15/17): Did you see the asterisk on the General Bar Examination Pass Rate Summary sheet? It’s worth noting that for the February 2017 administration of the California bar exam, the State Bar changed the way it calculates the total percentage of those who passed. That percentage now includes only those who finished the exam, whereas in the past, that percentage included the total number of those who sat for the exam. It’s likely that the already low passage rates for the winter exam would have been even lower had the State Bar not eliminated those who were unable to complete the test from the calculation. We suppose we’ll never learn how abysmal the results truly were because of the change that was made, but if you have any inside information, please let us know via email or text message at (646) 820-8477. Thanks.

Perhaps things will improve once the state’s exam moves from a three-day format to a two-day format this summer — and perhaps they’ll improve even more if the cut score is decreased, making the California exam easier to pass (a reform advocated by Dean David Faigman of Hastings Law, among others).

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On the bright side, the state’s mean scaled MBE score was 1379, compared with the national average of 1341. On the other hand, this is the lowest overall passage rate California has seen for the February administration of the bar since results were released in the winter of 2009, when only 33.5 percent of all test-takers passed the exam. These are the worst February exam results in almost a decade in the state of California (cf. the results of the state’s July 2016 exam, which were the worst California had seen in more than 30 years).

Here are some additional statistics from this winter’s exam:

California Bar Exam February 2017 Passage Rates

Once again, graduates of ABA-accredited law schools displayed an obvious advantage over their peers who attended California-accredited or unaccredited law schools. We’re eager to see the passage rates for individual law schools, but fear that the State Bar of California will again refuse to publicly publish detailed exam results by school. If you are able to obtain this information, please send it to us here at Above the Law, either via email or text message at (646) 820-8477.

Congratulations if you managed to pass the bar exam in California this February. If you didn’t pass, don’t despair. Many very successful people have failed the bar exam (see our list of famous bar exam failures). Focus on July and try to develop a plan for passing in the future.

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STATE BAR ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF FEBRUARY 2017 CALIFORNIA BAR EXAMINATION [State Bar of California]

Earlier: The Bar Exam: A List of Famous Failures
California Bar Exam Cut From Three Days To Two
Law School Dean Rips Bar Examiners
First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: Tightening Bar Pass Standards And The ‘California Problem’

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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