More first-time bar candidates passed exam in 2024, new ABA data shows
The percentage of successful first-time bar exam takers in 2024 increased more than 3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday. (Image from Shutterstock)
The percentage of successful first-time bar exam takers in 2024 increased more than 3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data released Wednesday by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.
“First-time takers in 2024 achieved an aggregate 82.79% pass rate (83.02% with alternative pathways), which is more than a 3-percentage point increase over the comparable 79.44% pass rate (with alternative pathways) for 2023,” according to a March 12 news release.
Those percentages include candidates who successfully completed alternative pathways to bar admission, according to the news release.
In addition, an aggregate 90.41% of 2022 law graduates (90.52% with alternative pathways) who took a bar exam were admitted within two years of graduation, a slight decrease from 90.53% for 2021 graduates, according to the news release. And 95.85% of all graduates who took a bar exam or took an alternative pathway in 2022 passed within two years of graduation, according to the data.
To be in compliance with Standard 316, law schools should have a two-year bar passage rate of at least 75%.
“Admission to the bar, as defined by the state supreme courts, is one measure that reflects how well law schools prepare their students for the legal profession—and this measure will continue to be shaped by changes in the bar exam, diverse pathways to licensure and other assessments of competency,” said Jennifer L. Rosato Perea, managing director for accreditation and legal education at the ABA, in the news release.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
