Some 68 percent of test takers passed the New York State Bar exam, an increase of 4 percentage points from last year, the New York State Board of Examiners announced Tuesday.

Graduates from American Bar Association-accredited law schools in New York who took the most recent exam for the first time in July 2017 fared much better. The passing rate for those candidates was 86 percent, an increase of 4 percentage points from last year and the highest passing rate in three years.

Of the 9,932 examined in July, 6,802 passed. The number of graduates from ABA-accredited law schools who took the bar examination for the first time was 5,740, which is 488 fewer than last year.

There were 3,156 foreign-educated candidates, accounting for 32 percent of all candidates. The passing rate for all foreign-educated candidates was 48 percent, up 11 percentage points from last year.

Successful candidates are certified for admission to the Appellate Division and must appear before the Committee on Character and Fitness to be examined before being admitted to the bar.