Law Schools

New York Bar Exam Results Are Out! (February 2019)

Wow! These are results that are worth celebrating!

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(Image via Getty)

The results for the February 2019 administration of the New York bar exam are out, and following the news that the national average score on the MBE section of the exam had risen for the first time since 2013, they’re looking pretty great.

According to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, 4,129 examinees sat for the test this winter. Of those examinees, 45 percent passed the New York bar exam, an increase of 7 percent from the February 2018 exam. The overall pass rate for first-time takers was 61 percent, an increase of 2 percent from the February 2018 exam.

Look at these New York bar statistics to see how the February 2019 results compare:

Year All Candidates All First-Time Takers All First-Time ABA Takers
February 2019 45 percent passed 61 percent passed 72 percent passed
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 repeat takers were largely responsible for the overall increased passage rates for the exam. Of the 2,627 repeaters who sat for the exam (64 percent of all test-takers), the pass rate was 36 percent, an increase of 11 percent from the February 2018 exam. This tracks with recent news from the National Conference of Bar Examiners that repeat test-takers saw their MBE scores increase.

But that’s not where the good news ends. First-time takers from ABA-accredited law schools saw their pass rates increase by 3 percent from the Februrary 2018 exam to 72 percent, the highest pass rate the state has seen since February 2014. The pass rate for first-time takers from New York ABA-accredited law schools also rose to 72 percent (an increase of 2 percent from February 2018), the highest pass rate the state has seen since February 2013. On top of that, a record number of foreign-educated candidates took the New York exam this winter (1,885 people, 46 percent of all test-takers), and their pass rate rose by seven percentage points, to 35 percent.

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(Image via NY State BOLE)

There’s good news all around, and we hope that things will continue to look up for recent law school graduates on their bar exam journeys. Well done!

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.

Press Release: NY Bar Exam Results — February 2019 [New York Board of Law Examiners]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked 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.

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