Replicating and Scaling a Productive Mindset Intervention That Promotes Achievement on Bar Exams

Bar Success Research Grant
School: Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Grant: Replicating and Scaling a Productive Mindset Intervention That Promotes Achievement on Bar Exams
Grant Amount: $125,000

Summary of Grant Outcomes

The 2019 Grant "Replicating and Scaling a Productive Mindset Intervention That Promotes Achievement on Bar Exams" aimed to improve bar passage outcomes by encouraging productive mindsets among graduates who sat for the California bar exam. It evaluated a replication of a productive mindset intervention (the California Bar Exam Strategies and Stories Program) that was first implemented for the July 2018 administration of the California bar exam.

The results of the study indicate that the productive mindset intervention is associated with substantial improvements in bar passage (compared to the July 2018 administration). The results indicate that participants in the program had noticeably higher total bar scores; after controlling for LSAT score, law school GPA, and cohort effects, participants are predicted to have total bar scores that are approximately 24 points higher than they otherwise would have been.

Participants in the program also evinced lower rates of stress and anxiety and made fewer mistakes.