http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2017/09/18/mississippi-bar-exam-pass-rate-53-percent/669515001/
Let’s Review the Results:On September 18, 2017, the JacksonClarion Ledger published a Jimmie E. Gates article, under the headline “Mississippi bar exam passage rate dropping.” Read this opening segment:
“Entering the legal profession in Mississippi is once again proving difficult for those seeking to become a licensed attorney.
The July Mississippi bar exam results released last week showed about 53 percent of the 172 who took the exam passed.
The passage rate was slightly better than the February exam when a smaller number took the exam and about a third passed. However, when the February and July bar exam results are analyzed as a whole, it shows a passage rate of 45 percent.
The passage rate in the state has dropped from about 80 percent several years ago.
The bar exam is given in February and July of each year.
The Mississippi Supreme Court annual report for 2016 shows the Board of Bar Admissions processed 27 applications for registration as law students and 343 applications for examination. A total of 276 people took the bar exam in 2016. The pass rate was 68.8 percent, down from the previous year when 75.1 percent passed, according to the report.
No one seems to know for sure why the exam passing rate is declining, but some have suggested it may be that law schools are accepting less qualified students.
Kyle McEntee, executive director of Law School Transparency, said a 2015 investigation by the national organization found that law schools were accepting more students with lower incoming credentials than ever before.”[Emphasis mine]
Anyone with an IQ room temperature understands the cause and effect of these declining passage rates, i.e. the law schools have lowered their admi$$ion$ “standards” to put more asses in seats. Yet, the deans want you to believe that there is no connection between these factors. Yes, it must just be a mere coincidence, right?
Other Coverage: On September 19, 2017, Staci Zaretsky posted an ATL entry simply entitled “This State’s Bar Exam Results Suck.” Read the following portion of that article:
“This spring, the results from Mississippi’s February administration of the bar exam were heavily critiqued for being downright atrocious; after all, a 36 percent overall passage rate is nothing to write home about. Granted, February exams are known to have lower overall passage rates than July exams, but Mississippi’s passage rates for each and every test administered have completely plummeted over the course of the past few years.
Just how bad has the problem become?
The results from Mississippi’s July 2017 administration of the bar exam were released yesterday, revealing that only 53 percent of all test-takers passed. That’s an 18 percentage point drop from the July 2016 exam, and a staggering 27 percentage point drop from the July 2013 exam.Something is wrong here.
Perhaps Mississippi College School of Law interim Dean Patricia Bennett knows why the state’s passage rates have dropped so much in the past few years. Here’s a statement on the issue that she gave to the Jackson Clarion Ledger:
Bennett has said there is no one explanation for the national decline in bar passage rates, and certainly Mississippi is not unique in that regard.
“Many states, including California and Florida, have seen significant declines,” Bennett said. “MC Law has never changed its admission strategy of enrolling students who we believe can ultimately become successful attorneys.”
There’s “no one explanation” for the decline in bar passage rates, eh? For years, we here at Above the Law have chronicled in detail the brutal fact that declining admissions standards have resulted in declining bar exam passage rates.” [Emphasis mine]
Zaretsky is right on the money with her assessment of the situation in Mississippi. Someone should inform Patricia Bennett that ABA-accredited diploma mills in Florida and California have also lowered their admi$$ion$ criteria. Then again, she is already aware of that fact. Frankly, these “legal educators” don’t care if you, the applicant, can pass a bar exam. They are only concerned that your student loan check clears.
Conclusion: In the last analysis, the law schools want to enroll anyone with a pulse – without regard as to whether that person: (a) can pass a bar exam; or (b) has the temperament and skill to represent others in legal matters. That does not even enter the equation for admissions committees at ABA schools.
Courtesy of Law School Transparency, here arethe figuresfor the cohort that entered theUniver$iTTTy of Mississippi SOLin Fall 2013: 25th percentile LSAT: 152; 50th percentile LSAT: 155; 75th percentile LSAT: 157; 25th percentile UGPA: 3.13; 50th percentile UGPA: 3.46; 75th percentile UGPA: 3.67. Thesituation was even uglierat Fourth TierMi$$i$$ippi College $chool of Lawfor Fall 2013: 25th percentile LSAT: 145; 50th percentile LSAT: 149; 75th percentile LSAT: 153; 25th percentile UGPA: 2.97; 50th percentile UGPA: 3.3; 75th percentile UGPA: 3.59. With those numbers, what did you expect to happen on the bar exam?