The July 2024 bar exam is shaping up to be a promising one for test takers, with rising pass rates bringing good news for law graduates and legal employers alike. As of Friday morning, more than half of U.S. states had reported results, and 18 of the 26 states saw higher overall pass rates compared to July 2023. Ten states posted improvements of five percentage points or more. Two states matched last year’s pass rates, while six reported slight declines.
Among the larger states, New York, California, Texas, and Illinois have yet to release their results. Florida, the third-largest state in terms of bar examinees after New York and California, already reported its results, showing an increase in its overall pass rate from 61% last year to 65% this July.
Data from the National Conference of Bar Examiners in August pointed to a favorable cycle for test takers. The national average score on the multiple-choice portion of the bar exam was 141.8, a 1.3-point increase from July 2023, and the highest average MBE score since 2013, excluding 2020 when the pandemic altered the exam format.
Officials attribute part of this rise to the unusually large and academically strong law school class of 2021. Law school applications surged by 13% that year due to the pandemic, allowing schools to be more selective in admissions.
States like Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Nebraska saw their pass rates jump nine percentage points, while Mississippi’s rate rose by seven points. Both Maine and Colorado saw six-point increases. Meanwhile, Vermont and Utah experienced declines, with Vermont’s pass rate dropping from 58% to 53% and Utah’s falling from 92% to 88%, although both states had relatively few test takers.
New York plans to release its results by the end of October, California will follow on Nov. 8, and Texas could announce its results as early as Monday.
