Law Schools

Big Changes Coming For The LSAT

LSAT is becoming more modern.

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Yesterday, the Law School Admission Council, the organization responsible for the administration of the LSAT, announced some major changes to the LSAT. Both are designed to take the traditional law school admissions exam into the 21st century, and ensure it is better able to compete with the GRE, which has recently gotten into the law school game.

The first change is absolutely major and will alter the way in which the next generation becomes lawyers — the LSAT is going digital! The digital LSAT will be on a tablet device that’s been loaded with software developed by LSAC.

The transition will begin in July 2019, with some test-takers assigned pencil and paper exams, and others electronic versions of the same test (as per best practices for changes of this type). As part of this introductory phase, students will not have the opportunity to select which format in which they take the exam, but a special option for these test-takers is the ability to cancel their scores after they’ve completed the test. By September 2019, the LSAT will move entirely to their tablet format — and students taking the exam then will not have the option to cancel those test scores.

“The LSAT will be fully digital in North America starting in September 2019. We’ve planned this transition carefully to ensure candidates have all the information they need to decide their preferred testing schedule,” said Kellye Testy, President and CEO of LSAC.

Though the format of the email is making a radical change, the substance will remain the same:

“The structure of the test sections and test questions will not be any different than the paper-and-pencil LSAT, and we’ll be providing free online tutorials, so we don’t think test-takers will have any problems moving to the digital version,” Testy said. “In our field tests, candidates found the Digital LSAT easy to use. That said, we wanted to provide additional options for those who register for our July transitional test.”

This project is something LSAC has been working on for years. And they’re convinced their software will provide a superior experience, as Testy noted, “We were not satisfied with the current electronic testing formats available. We wanted higher security and a better user experience.”

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The second bit of good news for wannabe lawyers is the expansion of testing dates. Beginning in the 2019-2020 testing year, LSAC will offer nine testing dates. That’s a big jump from the six that are currently offered and from the four testing dates that had been the standard only a few years ago.

But what does all this mean for you, assuming you really want to go law school? Jeff Thomas, executive director of pre-law programs at Kaplan Test Prep, said:

“Transitioning from a paper-and-pencil format to a digital format will be one of the biggest changes to hit the exam in its 70-year history. Because there is always some uncertainty with a test change of this magnitude, our advice is to make make every reasonable effort to test by June 2019, but no later than July 2019.”

That’s because Thomas advises going with the devil you know — and have many practice exams for. But if your plans don’t allow for that, Thomas says you shouldn’t fret:

“While change is not always easy, digital testing should allow for a more consistent test-taking experience for students, and should allow scores to be in students’ hands faster, which are both positive developments.”

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“Kaplan Test Prep will of course provide ample digital LSAT preparation tools and practice opportunities for those who do end up sitting for a digital LSAT administration.

It’s also part of a bigger trend in testing, so, like it or not students had best get used to it:

“More broadly, the LSAT’s move to a digital format follows the trend that we have seen among all major graduate-level admissions exams over the past decade. The admissions exams for graduate school, business school and medical school have all already made the switch from paper-and-pencil. The ACT® college admissions exam has also begun piloting the test to some students in a digital format, making the SAT the last major exam in paper-and-pencil format, for now. While students have been quick to embrace everything digital in their personal lives, now they will have no choice but to adapt to it on their educational tracks too if they plan to earn a graduate-level degree, which may take some getting used to.”

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