Stable Median LSATs, but Declining Bar Passage Rates

How do we reconcile these apparently contradictory facts? In his recent article, Legal Education at a Crossroads: A Response to Measuring Merit: The Shultz-Zedeck Research on Law School Admissions, Adam Lamparello explains that the law school’s median LSAT (note: median, not average) can stay the same, but the LSAT for the bottom 25 percent can drop. The students with lower LSATs can reduce the bar passage rate:

This article suggests that, regardless of the factors causing the recent decline in bar results, bar pass rates will soon drop significantly due to the four-year decline in LSAT scores at the 25th percentile (and below). In other words, the median LSAT score of a law school can remain unchanged, but the bar pass rate of that school can plummet if the 25th percentile drops. That is precisely what has happened in recent years, and it should stop – now.

You can read more here.  A big challenge for the ASP faculty.

(ljs)