Oof, if you were trying to become a Texas lawyer by taking the February 2018 bar exam, statistically, things probably didn’t go too well for you. The overall passage rate for that test was a dismal 45.22 percent — that’s the worst passage rate in at least 22 years (those are the years the Texas Bar provides data for on its website).
Even just looking at the results from February — which tends to have a lower pass rate across jurisdictions due to a higher percentage of repeat test takers — since 2000 you can get the proper perspective on just how bad the most recent bar exam results are:
| Texas Bar Passage Rate | |||
| Month | Year | Overall Passage Rate | First Time Pass Rate |
| Feb. | 2018 | 45.22 | 59.86 |
| Feb. | 2017 | 48.36 | 61.69 |
| Feb. | 2016 | 56.25 | 65.17 |
| Feb. | 2015 | 60.47 | 69.38 |
| Feb. | 2014 | 67.80 | 76.82 |
| Feb. | 2013 | 74.18 | 80.74 |
| Feb. | 2012 | 65.72 | 75.40 |
| Feb. | 2011 | 75.22 | 83.71 |
| Feb. | 2010 | 69.11 | 79.04 |
| Feb. | 2009 | 65.47 | 77.26 |
| Feb. | 2008 | 71.08 | 81.06 |
| Feb. | 2007 | 64.86 | 75.16 |
| Feb. | 2006 | 66.69 | 77.33 |
| Feb. | 2005 | 64.01 | 75.59 |
| Feb. | 2004 | 57.04 | 69.33 |
| Feb. | 2003 | 60.57 | 73.54 |
| Feb. | 2002 | 55.13 | 68.30 |
| Feb. | 2001 | 60.53 | 70.46 |
| Feb. | 2000 | 65.43 | 76.77 |
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That’s right — five short years ago the passage rate was 74 percent, now it has dropped all the way down to a shocking 45 percent.
So what is behind these historic lows? (Besides, of course, the plummeting law school admissions standards being lowered to fill seats in law schools as qualified candidates stay away from the debt and uncertainty of a legal career. The resulting law school classes seem… distinctly less qualified to pass the bar exam.) The breakdown of passage rate by law school reveals that among first time test takers, Baylor Law had the best results with 87.50 percent passing, SMU came in second with a first time test taker passage rate of 76 percent, followed by South Texas College of Law at 70.83 percent, then Texas A&M at 67.86 percent, Texas Tech at 66.67 percent, University of Houston at 60 percent, University of Texas at 54.55 percent, St. Mary’s at 43.18 percent, North Texas at 40 percent, and finally Texas Southern University bringing up the rear at a terrible 27.78 percent of first time test takers passing the exam.
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If you were in the lucky minority that managed to pass the exam, congratulations are in order. If you didn’t pass, there’s always July’s exam (and remember, plenty of noteworthy people failed the bar exam before going on to have successful careers).
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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).