Who says California's bar exam is too tough? Not graduates of University of Chicago Law School.

All 28 Chicago alumni who took the bar exam for the first time in July 2017 passed, according to figures for non-California law schools released this week by the state bar. The pass rate was the only perfect one recorded among schools—in and outside California—with more than 10 graduates taking the exam. The state bar does not reveal scores for smaller cohorts because of privacy concerns.

First-time test-takers at other top-tier law schools fared nearly as well. Thirty-three out of 34 Yale Law School graduates passed. Ninety-four percent of Harvard Law School alumni passed as did 93 percent from Duke University School of Law.

Pass rates improved significantly, too, for other top-ranked schools. 75 percent of Boston University School of Law graduates passed the July 2017 sitting, compared with just 13 percent a year earlier. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law saw its success rate jump from 58 percent to 83 percent.

The higher scores mirror an overall improvement among test-takers. The July 2017 pass rate of 49.6 percent ended a three-year slide in scores marked in 2016 by the lowest pass rate—43 percent—in three decades. The higher rate of success may be attributable to California moving from a three-day test to one held over two days.

California-based American Bar Association-accredited schools performed slightly better (with a 70 percent pass rate) than their out-of-state counterparts (67 percent).

California's bar requires the second highest passing score in the nation. Despite complaints from many law school deans, that will likely remain the case for some time as the state Supreme Court last year rejected calls to lower the passing, or cut, score of 145.

The new bar exam data is posted below:

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