How Does LSAC Determine LSAT Scores?

When you first start studying for the LSAT, you most likely key in on a certain score you need to hit to get into law school. For many, that’s the only thing they care about LSAT scores. However, if you are interested in how LSAC determines LSAT scores from administration to administration, we can help! Read further to see how this process works!

How Does LSAC Determine LSAT Scores?

1. Develop the test.

Obviously, LSAC must first develop the LSAT for each administration. Although the form of the test doesn’t change that much, the difficult test-to-test can vary. Although LSAC strives to make the LSAT consistent, they are human, and occasionally produce an outlier. Now, this can go either way: sometimes the test is easier, and sometimes it is harder. How do they know which? Well, they can tell from the score distribution.

2. See the score distributions and scale them.

Once an LSAT is complete, LSAC will see the average score. They can compare this to previous LSATs. If the total average score is lower or higher than it typically is, LSAC knows they need to do something. So, what happens is they scale the test. Not every test is the same, so LSAC needs to correct for any variation in difficulty. So, they make it so it is easier or harder to get a certain score. This is apparent when you look at a bunch of tests and see the average amount of correct answers it takes to get a certain score.

Let’s taken an example out of the blue. Let’s say it typically takes 55 correct answers to get a 150 on the LSAT. If the test is easier, LSAC will scale the LSAT scores so it takes 56 or 57 correct to get the same score. If it is more difficult, they might scale down so it only takes 52 or 53 correct answers to get a 150.

How do I know if a test is scaled?

All you need to do is look at the score distributions for each test. If you see a significant (2-3 point) difference from test to test, you will know the test was easier or harder than normal. If you need fewer points to get the same score, it was more difficult. However, if you need more, it was easier.

Why does LSAC scale LSAT scores?

LSAC scales LSAT scores to keep law school admissions consistent. In an ideal world, LSAC would write a consistently difficult LSAT test, and they would not need to scale. However, because they are human, the difficulty of the LSAT fluctuates. If you think about it, keeping the score distribution the same is unfair. If a test is more difficult, then those taking it should get more leeway on incorrect answers. In the same way, if a test is easier, then it should take more points to get the same score.

Ultimately, LSAT wants law schools to know that students who get a certain score are roughly comparable on the LSAT, regardless of test difficulty. Keeping this consistent allows admissions officers to better evaluate candidates. And that is ultimately what the LSAT is for!

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How Does LSAC Determine LSAT Scores?