February 2020 MBE bar scores fall to all-time record low in test history
What had been a record low in February 2018 after a record low in February 2017, became a new record low in February 2020. The mean score was 132.6, down from 134.0 last year and edging out the February 2018 low of 132.8. (That’s off from the recent 2011 high of 138.6.) We would expect bar exam passing rates to drop in most jurisdictions.
For perspective, California's overall "cut score" is 144, Virginia's 140, Texas's 135, and New York's 133.
Given how small the February pool is in relation to the July pool, it's hard to draw too many conclusions from the February test-taker pool. The February cohort is historically much weaker than the July cohort, in part because it includes so many who failed in July and retook in February. The NCBE reports that “more than two-thirds” of test-takers were repeaters.
Schools must ask themselves why bar rates remain persistently low and bar exam scores remain low. Declining entering class quality and ineffective bar preparation programs may be among the challenges.
The decline in scores comes at a particularly poor time. Some are advocating for “diploma privilege” for the Class of 2020 in light of bar exam postponements given the coronavirus pandemic. Bar licensing authorities will assuredly be skeptical of such proposals as they look at all-time low scores like these.