The pass rate for the July 2018 California bar exam plunged to a 67-year low for the summer test, with just 40.7 percent of those seeking to practice law in the Golden State earning a successful score.

The scores, released Friday evening, mark an almost nine percentage point drop from the July 2017 test. The 55 percent pass rate for first-time test-takers was also down eight points from last year.

The results mirror lower bar scores in other states. The percentage of successful test-takers in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Florida and Indiana all dipped year over year. And the average score nationally on the multistate bar exam, the 200 multiple-choice section of the test used by many jurisdictions in the country, also fell.

But California's nearly six-in-10 failure rate is shocking for a state that has tried to boost scores by shortening the test by a day and conducting studies of the notoriously difficult exam. California has not had more applicants pass the bar exam than fail since 2013.

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“We're … troubled by a low pass rate, and are working to better understand the reasons behind this national trend,” Leah Wilson, executive director of the state bar, said in a prepared statement. “Over the last 18 months we have conducted four distinct studies on the California bar exam designed to determine if the passing score is appropriate and the content valid. While these studies did not suggest that changes to either should be made at this time, the state bar takes seriously its commitment to ensuring integrity and fairness in the admissions process.”

Wilson said a “job analysis study” underway will help determine what knowledge and skills new attorneys need. That information will be included in a new review of the exam, she said.

First time test-takers from California-based, American Bar Association-approved schools continued to comparatively do better on the exam, posting a 64 percent pass rate as a group. Just 16 percent of repeat test-takers passed.

A list of all the test-takers who passed will be posted on the bar's website Sunday at 6 a.m.

 

State Bar Releases July 2018 Bar Exam Results news release:

 

 

>> Read more at The Recorder: 

How Law Schools Fared on Calif.'s February 2018 Bar Exam

Here's Who Passed the February 2018 California Bar Exam

Pass Rate for California's February Bar Exam Sinks to All-Time Low

How California Law Schools Fared on July 2017 Bar Exam

 

>> Read more from other ALM publications: 

Multistate Bar Exam Scores Sink to 34-Year Low, Pass Rates Sag (Law.com)

NY State Bar Exam Pass Rates Plummet (New York Law Journal)