October 26, 2021

While Awaiting and Responding to July 2021 Bar Exam Results, Let’s Look and Plan Ahead

By:
Joshua L. Jackson
|
Academic and Bar Success

 

The results of the July 2021 bar exam are slowly being released, and while only 26 jurisdictions have released their results so far, the NCBE has announced that the national MBE mean scaled score is down 0.7 points from July 2019.1 Learning bar passage results is a significant event for law graduates and law schools alike—they can launch or stall a graduate’s legal career, and they can sustain or imperil a law school’s accreditation based on Standard 316.   

The ABA’s revision to Standard 316 was heavily debated prior to adoption, with many expressing concern that the changes could have a disparate impact on law schools composed primarily of minority students, particularly HBCUs and law schools in Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, revised ABA Standard 316’s effect on legal education is still uncertain; so far, the ABA has only released compliance decisions for the class of 2017.2 Of the 10 law schools flagged for Standard 316 non-compliance last year, seven have since been cleared. And although the ABA has not adjusted Standard 316 to account for COVID-related disruptions, it has recommended that schools cite COVID-19’s effect on their graduates if they believe that the pandemic played a role in their falling short of the 75 percent benchmark.  

Considering the high stakes of bar exam passage for graduates and staff of our member law schools, AccessLex is undertaking research initiatives to support institutional efforts to improve outcomes for future bar takers. Much of our ongoing research is aimed at understanding the myriad factors that affect bar passage with the goal of identifying actionable solutions schools, students, and staff can use to raise bar success. Beyond that, our research helps law schools at risk of ABA Standard 316 non-compliance. According to the guidance memo on Standard 316, the ABA may grant an additional two years for law schools to come into compliance if they can demonstrate “good cause” for the extension, and our research agenda aims to help law schools develop a ready-made defense if needed.

Working Directly with Law Schools to Raise Bar Passage Rates

In 2018, AccessLex partnered with LSSSE to launchWorking with Law Schools the AccessLex/LSSSE Bar Exam Success Initiative, which analyzed student survey and transcript data from class of 2018 and 2019 bar takers at 20 law schools. This effort helped participating law schools individually and collectively understand how admission and academic factors, as well as various aspects of their school environments, influence first-time bar passage rates. We published results of the aggregated study in a national report that is forthcoming in the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, a peer reviewed journal.

Each participating law school received an individualized school report, which included various recommendations based on each school’s results (see sample here). In some instances, our analyses revealed opportunities for law schools to offer additional non-academic support to help students who were struggling to balance outside commitments, such as work and childcare. Where racial disparities in bar passage were found, we encouraged law schools to continue fostering inclusive environments through culturally responsive teaching and other targeted means. We also showed evidence validating the use of early academic and bar interventions as early as the 1L year, and we provided recommendations that included fostering growth mindsets, helping students be more efficient studiers, increasing students’ efforts at legal skills development, and more.

AccessLex is expanding its LSSSE survey partnership this year with the AccessLex/LSSSE Bar Exam Success Initiative 2.0, as well as expanding the ways schools can participate. With the Bar Exam Success Analyses Initiative, we also provide support for schools by analyzing anonymized admission, demographic, and academic performance data for their individual law school. Participating schools receive customized reports similar to those in the first iteration of the LSSSE initiative.

Working with Law Schools In 2018, AccessLex partnered LSSSE to launch with the AccessLex/LSSSE Bar Exam Success Initiative, which analyzed student survey and transcript data from class of 2018 and 2019 bar takers at 20 law schools. This effort helped participating law schools individually and collectively understand how admission and academic factors, as well as various aspects of their school environments, influence first-time bar passage rates. We published results of the aggregated study in a national report that is forthcoming in the Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, a peer reviewed journal.

Each participating law school received an individualized school report, which included various recommendations based on each school’s results (see sample here). In some instances, our analyses revealed opportunities for law schools to offer additional non-academic support to help students who were struggling to balance outside commitments, such as work and childcare. Where racial disparities in bar passage were found, we encouraged law schools to continue fostering inclusive environments through culturally responsive teaching and other targeted means. We also showed evidence validating the use of early academic and bar interventions as early as the 1L year, and we provided recommendations that included fostering growth mindsets, helping students be more efficient studiers, increasing students’ efforts at legal skills development, and more.

AccessLex is expanding its LSSSE survey partnership this year with the AccessLex/LSSSE Bar Exam Success Initiative 2.0, as well as expanding the ways schools can participate. With the Bar Exam Success Analyses Initiative, we also provide support for schools by analyzing anonymized admission, demographic, and academic performance data for their individual law school. Participating schools receive customized reports similar to those in the first iteration of the LSSSE initiative.

Researching Institutional Characteristics that Influence Bar Passage

Researching Institutional CharacteristicsIn addition to analyzing bar passage at the student level, AccessLex is researching correlates of institution-level bar passage outcomes. In a working study (full results to be released early 2022), we are investigating law school over- or under-performance on the bar exam. Preliminary results suggest that many institutions, including several schools flagged for ABA Standard 316 non-compliance, have bar passage rates that exceed expectations relative to their incoming students’ median LSAT score, mean undergraduate GPA, and other factors. We hope this empirical analysis will contribute solid evidence to help demonstrate that many law schools are positively contributing to their students’ legal education in a way that is not effectively captured with traditional metrics.

In a separate study under development, we weigh in on an ongoing debate over the extent to which academic attrition and transfers of law students materially affect institutional bar passage outcomes by changing cohort composition. This discussion is particularly relevant to schools seeking to demonstrate “good cause” since the ABA Standard 316 guidance memo specifies transfer as a relevant factor for coming into compliance. Our forthcoming report aims to provide robust data to help non-compliant schools with high transfer rates demonstrate that they are indeed preparing students for bar exam success, but losing those students obscures their law school’s compliance with the bar passage standard.

We hope these studies and our overall bar passage research agenda aid our member law schools with achieving and exceeding the ABA’s 75 percent ultimate bar pass rate. To learn more about our efforts to identify critical barriers and interventions to bar success at both the student and institutional levels, visit https://www.accesslex.org/research-and-data or contact us at research@accesslex.org.


1 July 2019 is the most recent July comparison group that was not impacted by COVID-19.

2 These compliance decisions were announced Summer 2020. The decisions for the class of 2018 have not been announced.