New York Bar Exam Results Are Out! (February 2019)
Wow! These are results that are worth celebrating!
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.
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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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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 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.