The results for the February 2018 administration of the New York bar exam are out, and they’re not looking as good as they were in the last three of the state’s administrations of the UBE.
According to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, 3,759 examinees sat for the test this winter. Of those examinees, 38 percent passed the New York bar exam, a decrease of 6 percent from the February 2017 exam. The overall pass rate for first-time takers was 59 percent, a decrease of 2 percent from the February 2017 exam.
Look at these New York bar statistics to see how the February 2018 results compare:
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| Year | All Candidates | All First-Time Takers | All First-Time ABA Takers |
| February 2018 | 38 percent passed | 59 percent passed | 69 percent passed |
| 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 |
This year, it looks like both repeat takers and foreign-educated candidates may have had something to do with the decreased passage rates for the exam. Of the 2,349 repeaters who sat for the exam, the pass rate was 25 percent, a decrease of 9 percent from the February 2017 exam. Of the 1,632 foreign-educated examinees who sat for the test (accounting for 43 percent of all candidates who took the exam), the overall pass rate was 28 percent, a decrease of 6 percent from February 2017.
In prior administrations of the New York exam, we praised the Uniform Bar Exam, which seemed to have normalized exam results for the state. But this time around, we may be dealing with another issue. Yes, the results of the February bar exam are generally lower due to the number of repeat test-takers — but not this low, and not at a time where things looked like they were improving. Yet again, we’re faced with law school admissions standards, which absolutely must be raised. It is simply unfair to allow law students to trudge their way through law school — all the while racking up hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt — to take a test that they may never, ever be able to pass. As we’ve said in the past, “[a]dmissions 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.” It is time to demand action on this front.
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 successful people have failed the bar exam (see our list of famous bar exam failures). Focus on July and develop a plan for passing.
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Press Release: NY Bar Exam Results — February 2018 [New York Board of Law Examiners]
Staci 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, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.