Seventy percent of the graduates of New York law schools who took the bar examination for the first time in February passed, the state Board of Law Examiners announced today.

The passing rate for the 357 graduates was an increase of 1 percentage point.

While the graduates of New York's 15 law schools performed better than their counterparts in 2017, the passing rate for all test takers dipped 6 percentage points. Repeat test takers had a dismal passing rate of 25 percent and foreign-educated candidates did only slightly better with 28 percent passing.

Of the 3,759 candidates who took the test in February, 1,421, or 38 percent, passed compared with 44 percent in February 2017.  There were 403 fewer test takers than last February, the lowest number since 2009.

The candidates included domestic- and foreign-educated candidates, first-time takers and repeaters.

The passing rate for the 882 graduates of all American Bar Association-accredited law schools who took the New York State bar examination for the first time in February was 69 percent, a decrease of 2 percentage points from February 2017.

Of the 2,349 repeaters, only 594 passed for a passing rate of 25 percent, which is lower than the repeaters passing rate of 34 percent in February 2017.

There were 1,632 foreign-educated candidates who sat for the test in February, accounting for 43 percent of all candidates. Their passing rate was 28 percent, a decrease of 6 percentage points from last year.

Along with the numbers, the board released a list of all successful candidates.

Nationally, scores on the February test were the lowest in more than a decade, while scores for those taking the exam during the more popular July session have been on the upswing.

February's bar examination marked the fourth year of the Pro Bono Scholars Program. It permits students to sit for the bar exam in their final year of law school in return for devoting their last semester to performing pro bono service for the poor through a clinic or externship.

There were 119 participants in this year's program, the largest group since its inception, and 106 of them passed the February examination for a passing rate of 89 percent.

Those who passed the bar are certified for admission to the Appellate Division and must appear before the Committee on Character before being admitted to the bar.

A candidate is not certified for admission until the board receives proof that the candidate has successfully completed the New York Law Course and has passed both the New York Law Exam, an online, open book test of 50 multiple choice questions testing New York law, and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.