A Comparison of July 2022 and July 2021 First-time Pass Rates
It’s been two months since the first of the July 2022 bar exam results was released. Only a handful of jurisdictions remain—with perhaps California the most notable state that has yet to release its numbers. Those results are expected to be released to applicants on November 10.
The National Conference of Bar Examiners collects information from each jurisdiction following release of their exam results. According to information the NCBE has collected from the recent July 2022 and the previous July 2021 bar exams, more than twice as many jurisdictions saw a drop in first-time bar passage over the past year than those who saw an improvement.
The NCBE has provided first-time pass rate data for both July 2022 and July 2021 for 42 jurisdictions. Of those 42 jurisdictions, 29 jurisdictions (69%) saw a dip in first-time pass rates. On other hand, only 13 jurisdictions (31%) improved its numbers from a year ago.
On the whole, however, the overall decrease in first-time bar passage from July 2021 to July 2022 is small. The average first-time bar pass rate on the July 2021 bar exam for the 42 jurisdictions was 75%, while the average first-time bar pass rate on the July 2022 bar exam was 74%—a drop of just one percentage point.
Jurisdictions with the largest improvements from July 2021 were Maine and the Virgin Islands, with both increasing their first-time bar pass rates by 12 percentage points.
Jurisdictions that experienced the largest drops from the July 2021 bar exam were North Dakota and Wyoming, with both states falling 11 percentage points.
So far, no Uniform Bar Examination jurisdiction for which the NCBE has publicly released data improved their first-time bar pass rates from a year ago. Mississippi’s first-time bar pass rate remained the same at 75%; Wisconsin dropped from 73% to 66%; and Florida dropped from 72% to 64%. California, which has yet to release its scores, is a non-UBE jurisdiction.
How did your jurisdiction fare?
