Uh-oh!
As
noted
by
Reuters,
the
national
Multistate
Bar
Examination
(MBE)
mean
scaled
score
is
back
to
an
all-time
low.
This
isn’t
what
we
like
to
see
when
it
comes
to
the
bar.
Higher
MBE
scores
from
recent
administrations
of
the
exam
gave
those
in
legal
academia
some
hope
that
the
future
would
be
brighter
for
test-takers.
Unfortunately,
according
to
the
the
National
Conference
of
Bar
Examiners
(NCBE),
average
MBE
scores
are
down
to
a
dismal
130.8.
This
is
(once
again)
the
lowest
February
MBE
score
on
record.
Could
this
have
happened
thanks
to
California’s
decision
to
create
its
own
exam?
Here’s
a
statement
that
Bob
Schwartz,
NCBE’s
managing
director
of
Psychometrics,
gave
to
Law.com.
“The
decrease
in
this
February’s
mean
represents
a
change
in
population
and
a
change
in
overall
performance.
In
four
of
the
past
five
years,
the
MBE
mean
for
California
has
been
higher
than
the
mean
for
the
combined
non-California
jurisdictions,
so
it
makes
sense
that
removing
California
from
the
national
pool
might
bring
the
national
mean
down
slightly.”Schwartz
further
noted
that
the
“absence
of
California
from
the
examinee
pool
does
not
affect
February’s
examinees
in
jurisdictions
that
administer
the
MBE,”
he
said,
adding
that
the
MBE
is
equated
as
part
of
the
scoring
process
to
control
for
any
possible
differences
in
exam
difficulty
or
examinee
population
compared
to
previous
administrations.
Per
the
NCBE,
the
blame
for
the
decreased
MBE
score
cannot
be
placed
solely
upon
California’s
shoulders.
Schwartz
continued,
stating,
“Excluding
California
from
the
comparison,
we
saw
a
decline
in
performance
across
all
groups
of
examinees
this
February;
first-time
test
takers’
performance
declined
by
about
a
point,
while
repeaters’
performance
was
down
by
about
0.7
points.”
According
to
the
NCBE,
of
the
15,350
people
who
took
the
February
2025
exam,
approximately
71%
were
likely
repeat
test-takers,
meaning
they’d
already
failed
the
exam
previously.
The
February
administration
is
usually
dominated
by
repeaters,
as
July
is
the
traditional
time
for
new
law
graduates
to
take
the
test.
Schwartz
says
that
for
the
February
2025
MBE,
first-time
test
takers
scored
an
average
of
135.1,
while
repeat
test
takers
scored
an
average
of
129.0.
Jurisdictions
are
currently
in
the
process
of
releasing
results.
We’ll
have
to
wait
to
see
just
how
bad
this
early
indicator
is
for
overall
pass
rates.
National
bar
exam
score
hit
record
low
in
February
[Reuters]
February
2025
MBE
Scores
See
Modest
Decline
From
Prior
2
Years
[Law.com]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
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