Karen Sloan (Law.com), October Online Bar Exam Pass Rates Are Rolling In and Trending Up, Mostly:
Ohio and Maryland have notched their highest bar exam pass rates since 2013 and 2014, respectively.
Both jurisdictions on Monday announced the results of their first-ever online bar exams, administered Oct. 5 and 6—making them the first outside of Idaho to unveil pass rates on that exam, which was given in 30 states. Ohio reported an overall pass rate of 77%, which is the highest since 2013, when the pass rate on the July test hit 82%. According to the Ohio Supreme Court, 958 people took the October online exam, which was rescheduled from July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 85% of first-time takers passed. In July 2019, 73% of bar exam takers passed.
In Maryland, the overall pass rate among the 805 October examinees was 70%, while first-time test takers had a pass rate of 79%. That’s an improvement over the July 2019 overall pass rate of 68% and is the highest since 2014, when 72% of takers passed the July exam. Illinois on Tuesday informed examinees of their results, but did not disclose the overall pass rate on it’s October online exam.
Ohio and Maryland’s strong pass rates are a good sign for examinees in the 28 other states that gave the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ October online exam, which includes New York, California and Illinois. …
Several other jurisdictions have announced the results of their own state-specific online bar exams, with mixed results. The first-time pass rate on Florida’s one-day online bar exam, given Oct. 13, was 71.7%, which is down from the 73.9% first-time pass rate on the July 2019 exam. …
[I]t remains to be seen whether Ohio and Maryland’s higher pass rates are replicated elsewhere. Sean Silverman, a bar exam tutor, said the shorter format of October’s online exam could be a factor in the higher pass rates.
