http://abovethelaw.com/2016/11/californias-bar-exam-passage-rate-reaches-32-year-low/
Ouch!: On November 21, 2016, Staci Zaretsky posted an ATL entry labeled “California’s Bar Passage Rate Reaches 32 Year Low.” Take a look at this opening:
“All bar exam results from the July 2016 administration of the test have officially been released, and in California’s case, it seems that the absolute worst may have been saved for last. The results of the state’s exam were scheduled for mailing on Friday, and test-takers were able to see whether their names were on the pass list on Friday evening.
Save for a few states, bar passage rates have continued to decline nationwide, and many have been waiting to see if California’s passage rates for the July 2016 exam would tank as badly as they did in July 2015, which were the worst the state had seen in nearly three decades. If you thought last year was bad, just wait until you see this year’s results.
According to a press release from the State Bar of California, the overall pass rate for the July 2016 exam was 43 percent, while the pass rate for first-time takers was 56 percent. In July 2015, the overall pass rate was 46.6 percent, and the pass rate for first-time takers was 60 percent. Although California’s overall pass rate dropped by 3.6 percentage points, its examinees seemed to be more able than test-takers in other states. The state’s mean scaled MBE score was 1421 compared with the national average of 1403.
Perhaps that bright spot ought to be taken with a grain of salt, because this is the lowest overall pass rate California has seen for the July administration of the bar since results were released in the fall of 1986, when only 44.4 percent of all test-takers passed the exam. The state hasn’t seen an overall pass rate this low in 32 years. In fact, this passage rate is historically mediocre — it’s actually the third-lowest summer passage rate the state has seen since 1951, when the July passage rate was just 37.6 percent.” [Emphasis mine]
Imagine incurring outrageous amounts of NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt for a law degree, only to then fail the bar exam. That is a waste of three years of time, money, energy. This represents a loss of significant loss of income as well. But at least the law school pigs were paid up front, in full, right?!?! While this pass rate also includes graduates of out of state ABA commodes, California-accredited schools, and non-accredited cesspits, these results are pathetic.
http://www.calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/News/ThisYearsNewsReleases/201645.aspx
Press Release: On November 18, 2016, the state bar issued a release entitled “State Bar Announces Results for July 2016 California Bar Examination.” Read the portion below:
“The State Bar of California's Committee of Bar Examiners reported today that 43 percent of the applicants passed the July 2016 General Bar Examination (GBX). If the 3,332 people who passed the July 2016 exam satisfy other requirements for admission, they will become members of the State Bar, and therefore licensed to practice law in California.
Preliminary statistical analyses show that of the 7,737 applicants who took the GBX, 66.7 percent were first-time takers. The passing rate for the 5,164 first-time applicants was 56 percent overall. The passing rate for the 2,573 applicants repeating the examination was 17 percent overall.” [Emphasis mine]
Of note, at the end of the page, you will see the following: Membership now stands at more than a quarter-million. That figure pertains to active lawyers in the state of California. Still want to join this GLUTTED field, Dumbass?!?!
According to this Sacramento Bee story from December 16, 2015, the state’s population exceeded 39 million. If we go with a conservative estimate, and divide 39 million by 250,000 attorneys, then that means there is a lawyer for every 156 people in California.
http://jdunderground.com/all/thread.php?threadId=119554#post10122023
Other Commentary: JDU denizen “cocolawyer” started a thread labeled “California Bar Passage Rates…” on November 22, 2016. Check out the following remarks:
"cocolawyer (Nov 22, 2016 - 1:56 pm)
Well if you look at overall pass rate it's 43%. This is the lowest pass rate for the July Exam in California in over 30 years.
Basically, the exam is getting easier, but the students are stupider. I hope firms are paying attention. You may want to pay your 3-6 years even more because they will be having to babysit brain dead mouth breathers.
http://abovethelaw.com/2016/11/californias-bar-exam-passage-rate-reaches-32-year-low/
jcad (Nov 22, 2016 - 2:09 pm)
“The trend in California is similar to the trend in New York and perhaps we should extrapolate from that to have such trend apply nationwide.
[T]he number of passers who are ABA approved California school grads (who are also first takers) was about 66% of those who passed the July 2012 exam.
July 2012 = 3157 passers
July 2016 = about 2100 passers
This reduction in ABA California school grads who are first takers and who passed is similar to the reduction seen in New York.”
Conclusion: Don’t put it past the law school cockroaches to point to the continuing decline in bar passage rates nationally – and resultant drop in recently licensed attorneys – as proof that we need more law students and graduates. After all, low-income families need representation in legal matters. Of course, if you owe $160K+ in NON-DISCHARGEABLE debt, but do not have a law license, then you are not in a position to help those broke bastards. For $ome rea$on, the “professors” and deans conveniently “forget” to mention that fact.