To pass the bar exam, you don’t have to be an expert on any of the subjects tested. Effective bar exam prep is more about building a broad and shallow base of knowledge of many subjects. You need to know just enough about enough areas of the law to land on the passing side of the bar exam curve.
Is the Bar Exam Curve Real?
The bar exam curve is very real, and it can be your ally in passing the exam. By understanding how the curve works and leveraging tools like BARBRI’s bar prep courses, you can maximize your chances of landing on the passing side.
What is the Bar Exam Curve and How Does It Impact Scoring?
The curve, or scaled scoring, serves to ensure fairness across different administrations of the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). It’s a process used by bar examiners to help establish a passing threshold that considers the overall performance of all test takers on the multiple-choice exam for a single bar exam administration. Essentially, the MBE curve’s scaled scoring accounts for variations in exam difficulty and the performance or bar test scores of the test takers.
The key to understanding where you are on the bar curve before you take the exam is knowing your percentile rank in comparison to everyone else preparing for the same assessment.
With the Curve, A Few Extra Points on the Bar Exam is Significant
You can see the phenomenon of the bar exam curve in action by checking out recent Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) National Scaled Score Distribution charts published by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) for 2021, 2022, and 2023.
MBE scores have a history of consistently following a bell curve pattern for every bar exam administration.
Source: The Bar Examiner
The silver lining of the bar exam lies in not having to ace anything. Instead, the key to a passing bar exam score is knowing just enough to perform well enough compared to your peers.
Most bar takers fall right in the middle on the bar exam curve, within a few points of each other. The MBE portion of the bar exam is significant to your overall score in almost all U.S. states. On the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), the MBE is worth 50% of your score. The written components — the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) — make up the remainder of your score. Getting just a few additional points on the MBE can really tip you into the “passing zone.”
How Percentile Rank Factors into Bar Prep
The bar exam can cover a ton of information. How can you measure if you’re doing well enough in enough areas before taking the actual bar exam?
Knowing that the bar exam scaled score exists should relieve some pressure as you prepare. Preparing for the bar exam requires a shift from earlier study strategies and test taking, where the goal was to achieve an “A” or a “B”. The pass/fail nature of the exam means that if you take a particularly difficult exam, the curve may work in your favor by lowering the passing threshold. When it comes to the bar exam, getting a 60% (“D” grade) on a section may be good enough to pass.
Also important is selecting the right bar prep provider. Every year, more students prepare with BARBRI Bar Review than with all other course options combined, so you can get valid ranking information. You’ll be able to monitor your scoring percentile rank by subject throughout your course and make adjustments to your studies as you progress.
Monitoring your percentile rank by subject will help you identify areas of the bar exam in which you are strong relative to your peers and those that need more work. This strategy will keep you from spending too much time in areas you are already proficient enough to pass and will push you to build up your weaker spots.
The bar exam pass rate is typically between 60-80% depending on your bar exam state. That means that 20-40% of people who sit for that bar exam do not pass. As you watch your percentile rank, your goal is to be in the 30th-40th percentile or higher in each subject as you progress in your studies. That’s how you know you’re doing well enough in enough areas.
How to Increase Your MBE Scoring Percentile Rank
Once you identify subjects in which you are scoring in the 40th percentile or lower, you want to return to those subjects. Re-watch portions of the lecture, consult the BARBRI Score Maximizer included in your course, or dive into your outlines if necessary.
Consider using a different study strategy than what you chose initially. Mixing up your bar prep learning activities can help you retain the information differently and has been proven to raise scores.
Leverage Your Bar Exam Score with the BARBRI Simulated MBE
BARBRI has been studying the MBE since it debuted in 1972, and our research confirms that tracking performance against peers is crucial. A few weeks before your actual bar exam, you’ll have the opportunity to take the BARBRI Simulated MBE. This exam mentally and physically prepares you for the real thing.
After completing the simulation, you will receive a Pass Predictor score report. This insightful report shows your rankings by MBE subject compared to other students prepping for the bar exam. Our Pass Predictor is the most accurate because more students prepare with BARBRI than with all other options. You get the best indication of where you’ll land on the exam.
You can then take this valuable feedback, along with your remaining study time, to focus on the areas that need your attention most. Lastly, by supplementing your bar exam prep with the MCQ Simulator from AdaptiBar, you are able to get more practice in on this critical factor to your overall score.
Here are some expert bar exam study tips. You've got this!
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