The digital version of the LSAT uses Microsoft Surface tablets. (Courtesy photo)

The digital version of the LSAT is getting relatively high marks from aspiring law students.

More than half of the test-takers recently polled about their experience with the new, computerized exam rated the technological aspects as either very good or good, according to a survey conducted by Kaplan Test Prep. By contrast, just 17% rated the technology of the digital LSAT—that is, functions such as touching the tablet screen to turn pages, highlighting text, digital time tracking, and the stylus—as either poor or very poor.

July 15 marked the first time the LSAT was given in its new digital format. Half of the 24,000 takers were given the paper exam, and half took it on the new tablet format. (They didn't know ahead of time which format they'd get.) All LSATs will be given in the digital format during the next administration in September. The Law School Admission Council, which has been developing the digital exam for the past five years, said earlier this month that the first iteration was largely a success, with a small number of technological problems cropping up across the country. The results of the Kaplan survey, which is based on responses from 118 people who took the digital test, largely bear that out.

Seventeen percent said the technology of the new exam is “very good,” while another 36% said it is “good.” Another 30% rated the technology as “fair,” followed by 14% who said it was “poor” and 3% who rated it “very poor.”

The digital LSAT is delivered on Microsoft Go tablets. Each tablet has a time tracker in the upper right-hand corner, and test takers select answers by tapping the screen—which replaces the need to fill in bubbles on a Scantron. Users may customize the exam in several ways, such as adjusting the brightness of the screen or enlarging the text size. The digital version also allows takers to highlight text in various colors and gives them a stylus—the digital version of a pen.

But the stylus emerged as the most common complaint among the survey respondents. Some reported that the stylus was difficult to control or too sensitive. “It was hard to control how much I was highlighting and time-consuming to highlight individual words or select phrases,” one survey respondent wrote.

Most takers reported that the difficulty of the digital exam was about what they expected, or easier than they anticipated. Among them, 37% reported the test was easier than they expected, while 32% said it was harder. Another 30% said the difficulty level was what they expected.

“There is always some uncertainty with a test change of this magnitude, which explains why 58% of our students overall were hoping to take the exam in its now defunct paper-and-pencil format,” said Anthony Coloca, Kaplan Test Prep's director of pre-law programs. “We know the test maker is listening to what pre-law students are saying, and we're confident they will make some adjustments to give students an even more seamless test taking experience.”