Maine’s February 2020 Bar Exam Results Rebound.
Posted by Edmund R. Folsom
April 23, 2020
Maine’s February 2020 bar exam pass rate is 50%, a marked increase from Maine’s abysmal, worst in the nation, February 2019 bar pass rate of 31%. Shortly before the February exam was administered, the “cut score” was reduced from 276 to 270. This probably helped. Previously, Maine’s cut score for the Uniform Bar Exam was the second highest in the nation. Only Alaska’s was higher, at 280. Only two other states – Colorado and Rhode Island – had 276 cut scores. We share our new 270 cut score with New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont. Connecticut’s is 266.
But Maine’s new 270 cut score only applies to those taking the Uniform Bar Exam in February 2020 or after. In other words, those who scored between 270 and 275 on previous bar exams are not eligible for admission to the Maine Bar based on those old scores.
Nationally, the 200 multiple-choice-question Multistate Bar Exam, which makes up 50% of the Uniform Bar Exam’s overall score, hit its lowest February score ever — that’s right, an all time low. Is the problem lax law school admissions standards over the past several years? Is it everyone-gets-a-trophy grade inflation instilling a false sense of security in law school graduates? Is it the increased difficulty of the exam itself? Is it a combination? On the positive side, there isn’t far left to fall, while there’s a whole lot of room for improvement.
Related Posts: Maine’s February 2019 Bar Pass Rate Worst In Nation.
Maine’s July 2019 Bar Results Are Out – The Slide Continues.