State Bar & Bar Associations
May 9, 2022
February bar exam pass rate drops 3.3%, mostly due to repeaters doing worse
The cohort most likely to pass were first-time test takers from California law schools accredited by the American Bar Association. Fifty-four percent of these applicants passed, compared with 65% a year ago. Passage rates for out-of-state ABA accredited schools and unaccredited in-state schools dropped by a similar amount.
Passage rates for the latest California State Bar exam fell sharply from last year, including a big drop among the cohort most likely to succeed. However, the change appears to be mostly driven by a higher-number of repeat test takers.
Just 33.9% of test takers passed the February exam, the bar announced late Friday. This compares to 37.2% for the February 2021 exam. The total number of applicants who passed dropped from 1,227 to 1,056.
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