Change is a-coming to the traditional law school admissions exam, the LSAT. As you may recall, the first-ever digital administration of the exam began with the July 15th test, with exam takers being assigned to take the test either on paper or on a tablet upon their arrival. (Beginning with the September administration of the LSAT, all test takers use a tablet.)
To make the transition to the digital format easier, July test takers had a one-time offer to get a look at their scores before deciding if they want to cancel them (usually test takers have to make that call before their scores are ready), as LSAC, the body that administers the LSAT, explained:
To ease the transition, LSAC is also offering July test takers a special option: regardless of format, July test takers will have the opportunity to see their score before they decide whether they wish to cancel it. Those who decide to cancel can choose to retake the test again through April 2020 free of charge.
In the podcast Keeping Up To Data, LSAC’s Vice President and Chief of Staff Susan Krinsky explained that a lot of wannabe lawyers took advantage of this opportunity. Approximately half (!) of the test takers canceled their scores from the July administration. To put it in perspective, normally between 2 – 3 percent of LSAT scores are canceled.
I spoke with Jay Thomas, Executive Director of Pre-Law Programs for Kaplan Test Prep, about this and he told me, “To call it historic is an understatement.” But, at the end of the day it was “not terribly surprising.” After all, July test takers had a unique opportunity and Thomas said many signed up for that administration without the typical amount of preparation because they felt, “What do I have to lose?” Thomas also said with the LSAC increasing the number of yearly administrations of the test (from four to nine), they are seeing a trend of procrastination among test takers, with prospective law students taking longer to decide when they’ll actually take the exam (some then have issues getting a seat at their preferred testing location), with some postponing the exam multiple times before they take it. But the good news, according to Thomas, is that the cancellation percentage was consistent across both formats, meaning there wasn’t an issue with the new digital exam.
And that’s very good news for bringing the LSAT into the future.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. 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).