Modifying a Golf Stat to Help Prioritize Your Bar Preparation
I developed my love for the game of golf from my father, cherishing the bonding and shared experiences on the course as he taught me the subtle nuances, pleasures, and frustrations of the sport.
I often draw parallels between the game of golf and preparing for and taking the bar exam. Here are just a few examples:
“Rickie Fowler's Post-Round Interview Provides Good Advice For Examinees” (June 18, 2023)
“Learning From the Masters (Tournament)” (April 7, 2023)
“Pressure—and What You Can Do About It” (May 23, 2022)
“Don't Let Missed Questions Bother You on Exam Day” (Feb. 7, 2022)
Success in both golf and the bar exam hinges on strategic long-term preparation, mental endurance, and the ability to navigate unexpected challenges with precision and calm.
It’s important to note, too, that perfection is an unattainable goal in both golf and preparing for the bar exam. (See "The Bar Exam is Not a Game of Perfect," Aug. 16, 2018). The true essence lies in continual improvement and learning from each experience, recognizing that progress and resilience are more valuable than flawlessness. This mindset acknowledges that while perfection is elusive, the journey of enhancing skills and overcoming challenges is where true growth and satisfaction are found.
When it comes to golf, using statistics like "Strokes Gained" can help improve your golf game by providing a detailed analysis of where you’re gaining or losing strokes, allowing for targeted improvements in specific areas of your game. This data-driven approach offers a clearer understanding of strengths and weaknesses, enabling more focused practice and strategic adjustments.
When it comes to preparing for the bar exam, a similar statistic I've developed—what I call “Points Gained”—can help you focus on and prioritize subjects on the Multistate Bar Exam (the multiple-choice portion of the bar exam) so you give yourself the best opportunity to maximize points on exam day.
Golf's "Strokes Gained" Explained
The "Strokes Gained" approach in golf compares a player's performance to a statistical baseline, which represents the average number of strokes a professional golfer would take to complete a hole or a shot from a given distance or situation. This baseline is calculated from vast amounts of data collected from professional tournaments.
Suppose the average professional golfer takes 2 strokes to get the ball into the hole from 20 yards away. If a Golfer A does it in 1 stroke, that golfer gained 1 stroke against the field (because that golfer took 1 stroke less than the average). If Golfer A takes 3 strokes, that golfer lost 1 stroke (since Golfer A took 1 more than the average).
The "Strokes Gained" statistic is usually divided into several categories and applied to all aspects of the game, such as: “Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee” (measuring a player's performance on driving the ball); “Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green” (focusing on shots that move the ball towards the green); “Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green” (calculating short shots played near the green, excluding putts); and “Strokes Gained: Putting” (evaluating a player's putting performance). The strokes-gained statistic is a more sophisticated method of examining performance than just counting the number of strokes, as it accounts for the varying difficulties of different shots and holes.
My "Points Gained" Explained
When it comes to bar preparation, “Strokes Gained” serves as an analogous metric to “Points Gained,” with both quantifying relative performance improvements against a standard benchmark. This parallel allows students preparing for the bar exam to conceptualize bar preparation as a process of incremental skill enhancement, mirroring the strategy and precision needed in golf to gain strokes.
Let’s see how my “Points Gained” statistics work:
First, we need a a baseline or benchmark when it comes to the multiple-choice portion of the bar exam. By the time the bar exam rolls around at the end of next month, you’ll want to try to answer at least 65% of the multiple-choice questions correctly. But you want to differentiate your target performance in each of the subjects. While your goal is to reach 65% correct overall, some subjects you’ll want to score higher to compensate for historically more difficult subjects.
Here’s my own take on what you should strive for in practice (e.g., target performance) :
At least 75% correct:
Constitutional Law
Criminal Law and Procedure
Torts
At least 65% correct:
Civil Procedure
Evidence
At least 55% correct:
Contracts and Sales
Real Property
Of course, you'll want to score as high as you can on each and every subject on the actual MBE. But remember that an average raw score of 62% to 65% on the MBE will likely result in an average scaled score, which usually falls around 132 to 142 scaled points, depending on the administration. This means that if you score 65% raw on the MBE, you’ll likely earn at least half of the points needed to pass the Uniform Bar Exam in a 270 jurisdiction. Since the average scaled essay scores are equated to the scaled MBE scores, that means an average scaled essay score will usually generate around 132 to 142 scaled points, too, again depending on the administration.
Imagine the bar exam is like a golf course, and each subject is a different hole. The target performance for each subject is like the "par" for each hole—the score you're aiming to beat.
Example 1
Let’s look at a hypothetical bar examinee who is answering 70% of the questions correctly in Constitutional Law and 60% correct in Contracts and Sales.
When it comes to Constitutional Law, the hypothetical bar examinee’s “Points Gained: Constitutional Law” would be -5%. This represents a loss of points. In other words, compared to the target performance in Constitutional Law, scoring 70% is underperforming because the target performance is 75%.
When it comes to Contracts and Sales, the hypothetical bar examinee’s “Points Gained: Contracts and Sales” would be +10%. This means the hypothetical bar examinee gained points. In this subject, scoring 65% is significantly better than the target performance of 55% in Contracts and Sales.
The key factor in the “Points Gained” statistic is not the absolute score but how the score compares to the target performance in each subject. A 70% in Constitutional Law means the hypothetical bar examinee is doing worse than the target performance in that subject, whereas a 65% in Contracts and Sales indicates the examinee is performing notably better than the target performance. In this context, while it might appear to be counterintuitive, a 65% in Contracts and Sales is more impressive than a 70% in Constitutional Law, as it shows a greater positive deviation from the subject's average.
Example 2
Let’s look at another example, considering all seven MBE subjects:
Let’s say that during Student A’s bar preparation, Student A is correctly answering practice questions at the following percentages:
Civil Procedure: 48%
Constitutional Law: 64%
Contracts and Sales: 52%
Criminal Law and Procedure: 60%
Evidence: 56%
Real Property: 60%
Torts: 68%
When comparing Student A’s performance against the target performance in each subject, Student A’s “Points Gained” statistics would be as follows:
Points-Gained Civil Procedure: -17% (48% vs 65% target performance)
Points-Gained Constitutional Law: -11% (64% vs 75% target performance)
Points-Gained Contracts and Sales: -3% (52% vs 55% target performance)
Points-Gained Criminal Law and Procedure: -15% (60% vs 75% target performance)
Points-Gained Evidence: -9% (56% vs 65% target performance)
Points-Gained Real Property: +5% (60% vs 55% target performance)
Points-Gained Torts: -7% (68% vs 75% target performance)
On the MBE, where there are 25 questions in each subject, the resulting +/- point calculation would be the following:
Civil Procedure: (48% - 65%) 25 = -17% 25 = -4.25 points
Constitutional Law: (64% - 75%) 25 = -11% 25 = -2.75 points
Contracts and Sales: (52% - 55%) 25 = -3% 25 = -0.75 points
Criminal Law and Procedure: (60% - 75%) 25 = -15% 25 = -3.75 points
Evidence: (56% - 65%) 25 = -9% 25 = -2.25 points
Real Property: (60% - 55%) 25 = +5% 25 = +1.25 points
Torts: (68% - 75%) 25 = -7% 25 = -1.75 points
In subjects like Civil Procedure and Constitutional Law, Student A scored well below the target performance (which is like taking more strokes than par). These are areas where Student A lost points.
In Contracts and Sales, Student A was just a bit below average, like missing par by a small margin.
Interestingly, in Real Property, Student A scored above the target performance (which is like finishing a hole under par) even though the student answered just 60% of the practice questions correctly. This is where Student A gained points.
Now, let’s combine these individual subject-specific numbers into a “Strokes-Gained MBE (Overall)” statistic. This is like looking at the examinee's entire round of golf, adding up the strokes gained or lost on each hole (subject) to see Student A’s overall performance.
The overall "Points-Gained MBE (Overall)" for the hypothetical bar exam examinee, considering the scores in each subject and their comparison to the average, is -14.25 points. This negative value indicates that, overall, Student A has performed below the average across the subjects.
Prioritizing Subjects for Improvement
Based on the Points-Gained analysis, Student A should prioritize improving in the subjects where the student lost the most points. Here's the ranking for improvement:
1st - Civil Procedure (most points lost, highest priority for review)
2nd - Constitutional Law
3rd - Criminal Law and Procedure
4th - Evidence
5th - Torts
6th - Contracts and Sales
7th - Real Property (most points gained, lowest priority for review)
In this analogy, the student’s goal is to improve his score in each subject to either meet or exceed the target performance. Focusing on the subjects with the most points lost (like Civil Procedure) would be like a golfer practicing more on the holes where they tend to take the most strokes. This targeted approach can help the examinee improve their overall performance on the next bar exam.
