Bar Exams

New York's February Bar Exam Results Are Lookin' Good Thanks To The UBE

What a pleasant surprise. Congratulations to those who passed!

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bar exam passedThe results for the February 2017 administration of the New York bar exam are out, and they’re looking much, much better than in years past.

According to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, 4,162 examinees sat for the test this winter. Of those examinees, 44 percent passed the New York bar exam, an increase of 4 percent from the February 2016 exam. The overall pass rate for first-time takers was 61 percent, an increase of 6 percent from the February 2016 exam.

Look at these New York bar statistics to see how the February 2017 results compare:

Year All Candidates All First-Time Takers All First-Time ABA Takers
February 2017 44 percent passed 61 percent passed 71 percent passed
February 2016 41 percent passed 55 percent passed 67 percent passed
February 2015 43 percent passed 56 percent passed 70 percent passed
February 2014 47 percent passed 62 percent passed 74 percent passed
February 2013 50 percent passed 64 percent passed 75 percent passed
February 2012 44 percent passed 59 percent passed 69 percent passed
February 2011 48 percent passed 63 percent passed 77 percent passed
February 2010 50 percent passed 67 percent passed 81 percent passed
February 2009 42 percent passed 60 percent passed 73 percent passed
February 2008 50 percent passed 64 percent passed 76 percent passed
February 2007 44 percent passed 61 percent passed 74 percent passed
February 2006 46 percent passed 61 percent passed 74 percent passed
February 2005 47 percent passed 62 percent passed 72 percent passed
February 2004 45 percent passed 58 percent passed 67 percent passed

Some will blame the high number of foreign-educated candidates who took the exam for the February 2017 passage rates not being even higher. For the February 2017 exam, 1,792 foreign-educated examinees sat for the test, accounting for 43 percent of all candidates who took the exam. The pass rate for this group overall was 34 percent, an increase of 4 percent from February 2016, and the pass rate for first-time takers in this group was 46 percent, an increase of 12 percent from February 2016. Unfortunately, even with their monumental successes compared to last February, these test-takers still dragged down the overall pass rate and overall pass rate for first-time takers.

It’s also worth noting that this is the second time that New York has administered the Uniform Bar Exam, and dare we say, after several years of horrific results, the UBE seems to have normalized exam results for the state. Now that the Uniform Bar Exam has yielded positive results twice in a state that was once regarded as having one of the toughest bar exams in the country, more jurisdictions might be willing to adopt the UBE.

We said this after New York released its July 2016 exam results, and it must be repeated:

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Law schools must remain cognizant of the fact that 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 so that those who bet their lives and careers on a legal education don’t wind up in a worse position than what they started with in the first place.

Congratulations to you if you were able to pass the bar exam in New York this winter. 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 develop a plan for passing.

Press Release: NY Bar Exam Results – February 2017 [New York Board of Law Examiners]

Staci ZaretskyStaci 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.

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