How Hard is the LSAT?

One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is, “How hard is the LSAT?” Most students have heard the test is difficult, but unless they’ve taken an LSAT already, they don’t have a good idea of whether the test really is hard, or whether it’s just like any other college test. Let’s take a look at some numbers and see what the real story is here.

LSAT Scoring Scale

First, we have to understand the scores that are produced by the test, because those scores help us measure difficulty. Our LSAT Scoring Scale discussion explains how the 120 to 180 scoring scale works. The key discussion points relate to how many questions you can miss to achieve certain scores, as well as what percentile is represented by each score.

Let’s start by looking at the number of people who score a 180, which is a perfect score. In theory, the easier the test, the higher the number of perfect scores. For example, a first grade level spelling test for college-educated adults would yield many perfect scores. Conversely, an advanced calculus test for fourth graders would yield almost none. The easier the test relative to the test takers, the more perfect scores you should see.

With the LSAT, the percentile for a 180 is 99.97%. Thus, in numerical terms, if you have a 180, then in a room of 10,000 people you have one of the three highest scores. With roughly 100,000 LSATs administered in the past year, about 30 people received a perfect score. This indicates the LSAT is a very difficult exam.

Achieving a 180 is interesting because you don’t have to answer all questions correctly. This page shows that to get a 180, you can, on average, miss around 2 to 3 questions per test. So you can miss a few and still score perfectly.

The 170

Next, let’s focus on a score of 170, which is highly desirable. A 170 represents the 97.4th percentile, meaning a score higher than 97.4% of all LSAT takers. On the September 2018 LSAT, you would have to answer at least 89 of 101 questions to receive a 170. In other words, you can miss 12 questions and still be in the top 2.5% of scores. Compared to college grading scales, this shows how difficult the LSAT is: 89/100 in college is a B or B+, but 89/101 on the LSAT is outstanding.

LSAC’s Guessing Policy

The final piece of evidence regarding test difficulty relates to the guessing policy. Unlike many standardized tests, there is no guessing penalty on the LSAT. You are encouraged to guess on questions you cannot finish. There’s no penalty for incorrect answers, and correct guesses earn full credit. This suggests the test is so hard that blind guessing is unlikely to significantly impact scores.

The conclusion: the LSAT is a very hard test. However, it is a learnable test. With proper study and preparation, you can improve your performance. Each point gained moves you above more of your peers, and you don’t have to be perfect to do very well.