The Decreasing Bar Exam Pass Rates in California are Troubling

Last year, the Bar Exam shattered the confidence of over 7,300 prospective lawyers in California who failed to pass the test. Unfortunately, we have been given the reputation of having one of the most difficult bar exams in the country. In fact, in 2015 California had the second lowest bar exam pass rate, with only 44% passing. This shockingly low number is only the most recent in a downhill trend. Californian law students have been worrying over the continuing decline in pass rates over the last eight years.

Although this downward spiral can be extremely intimidating to prospective lawyers in the Golden State, there are several well-known law schools in the area which boast some extremely high pass rates. For instance, July 2015 California bar passage rates revealed that Stanford students had an 88.8% passage rate (no surprise there!). USC, UCLA, and UC Berkeley all came in above the 80% mark as well, indicating that these law schools are doing their job well when it comes to preparing students for the bar and, in turn, their careers as lawyers.

The students currently preparing for the February 2017 California bar exam are up against major odds, but there is still hope that the pass rate will see an increase. Going forward, it seems that some California schools need to take a look at their law programs and make adjustments so that their students will be more successful in passing the exam in the coming years.