The New York state average pass rate of 86 percent for the July 2010 bar exam dropped two percentage points from the year before, New York Lawyer reports. Of the state’s 15 law schools, 12 reported lower pass rates among first-time test takers. Perhaps related, a record number of candidates took the test, according to the New York State Board of Law Examiners.
As usual, Columbia, NYU, and Cornell held onto the top three spots for bar pass rates. Brooklyn Law maintained its 90 percent pass rate and thus moved up to fourth place from seventh last year. University at Buffalo Law School was the only school with an increase in its pass rate, from 81 percent last year to 83 percent this year. Syracuse Law took last place with the most extreme drop-off—down to 70 percent from 87 percent last year. The economy could have something to do with the lower pass rates, leading to more stress regarding the test takers’ uncertain futures, and perhaps them enrolling in cheaper bar prep classes.
Regardless, “the past decade’s statistics are indeed volatile,” with the state average ranging from a high of 90 percent two years ago, to a decrease of 76 percent three other times in the last ten years. The schools’ pass rates, as well, vary from year to year, so it seems that only so much can be gleaned from this year’s results.
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