National bar exam score hit record low in February
The average score on the 200-question Multistate Bar Exam was 130.8, which sank below the previous low of 131.1 in 2023, according to the National Conference of Bar Examiners. The MBE score on last month's test fell short of the February 2024 score of 131.8. This year's MBE average is the lowest since its debut in 1972.
Part of this year's decline is due to California's use of its own bar exam for the first time in February and no longer using the MBE, said Bob Schwartz, the National Conference's managing director of psychometrics. California examinees, who number between 3,000 and 4,000 each February, typically have a higher mean MBE score than do examinees elsewhere. When removing California examinees from the 2024 February MBE mean, 2025's year-over-year decline was smaller.
The MBE is one of three bar exam sections, along with essays and a performance test.
February's score decline is also partially due to the declining performance of repeat test takers, Schwartz said.
The bar exam is given twice a year in February and July, with the February administration drawing a higher proportion of takers who have already failed the test once, which generally results in lower overall pass rates than July, since repeat test takers are more likely to fail the exam. This February, 71% of test takers were repeaters.
Due to the widespread adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam — which enables examinees to transfer scores between jurisdictions without having to retake the bar — fewer of today's repeat test takers have already taken the bar exam and passed elsewhere, the National Conference said. Today's repeaters are more likely to have failed the exam at least once, pulling down the national average MBE score for February.
California is not due to release results from its February bar exam until May 2. The state's hybrid remote and in-person exam was marred by widespread technical and logistical problems.
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