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Writer's pictureTommy Sangchompuphen

Some States See Higher Passage Rates on the October Remote Exam

Results from the remote bar exam administered on Oct. 5-6, 2020, are starting to come in, with Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Ohio notifying their examinees today. So far, a total of four jurisdictions have released results—Maryland posted its result the day before Thanksgiving.


While it’s early, with only a limited amount of data to examine at this point, it does appear that examinees have fared relatively well on the remote exam, which was administered as a result of COVID-19. First-time bar passage rates on the October 2020 exam have exceeded average passing rates for the three prior July administrations by more than five percentage points in the two jurisdictions where statistics are currently available.


Since Kentucky and New Hampshire have not yet publicly posted their exam statistics, here’s an examination of Maryland’s and Ohio’s statistics:


Maryland: Among its 650 first-time test takers who took the October 2020 remote exam, Maryland saw 516 pass the exam, or 79%. While this was a slight dip from the first-time passage rate in July 2019, when 81% of the examinees passed the exam, the October 2020 first-time passage rate is a significant improvement from the July 2018 and July 2017 exams, both of which came in at 71%. The three-year average passage rate over the three July exams from 2017 to 2019 was 74%, which the October 2020 first-time passage rate bettered by five percentage points.


Ohio: The Buckeye State saw similar improvements, with its October 2020 first-time passage rates outperforming each of the three previous July bar exams. While first-time examinees passed at a 77%, 79%, and 82% rate on the July 2017, July 2018, and July 2019 exams, respectively, first-time examinees on the October 2020 exam passed at a 85% rate. This was an improvement of six percentage points compared to the three-year average passage rate over the three July exams from 2017 to 2019


As additional jurisdictions begin to release results and make statistics publicly available, I will continue to provide updates.

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