Topic 14: Is My MBE Score Passing?

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Is My MBE Score Passing?

You may wonder if your MBE score is considered “passing” or not. Here, we tell you how to determine this. 

Step one: figure out what a passing MBE score is in your state. 

Revisit topic 1 and see what “converted” score you need to pass the MBE. If you are in New York, for example, you need a 266 to pass the bar exam and a 133 to have a “passing” MBE score. (Note: Most jurisdictions, including Uniform Bar Exam jurisdictions, do not require a minimum passing MBE score. So long as you receive 266 points total, you will pass!) However, it is still helpful to know the approximate score that is considered passing so that you know if you are on track.

Remember that the MBE score you just looked up is a “converted” MBE score.

So, if you are in New York, you know that a 133 is a “passing” MBE score. However, this is a passing converted MBE score.  The NCBE calculates your “converted” MBE score by adding a certain number of points to your “raw” MBE score.

In other words, you do not need to answer 133 questions correct out of 200 (or out of the 175 questions that are scored on the MBE) to pass the MBE.  What matters for your purposes is the “raw score” that you need. This will tell you the approximate percentage of MBE questions that you need to answer correctly to pass the MBE.

Next, figure out the “raw” MBE score that you need in order to get that passing converted score. 

The next step is to figure out the raw score that you need to get a passing converted MBE score. We have done the math for you based on past data that we have available. (If you want to read more about this data and the math that goes into calculating a passing MBE raw score, please read this post.)

These are the approximate scores you want to aim for in order to have a passing MBE score:

• If you are aiming for an MBE converted score of 131-135 (which is a passing score in most jurisdictions that require scores of 262-270 to pass), you should aim for 58%-62%. We suggest aiming for at least 60% to be safe. This means you should get 60-62 questions correct on a 100-question practice test or 120-124 questions correct on a full MBE exam.  
• If you are aiming for an MBE score of 136-140 (which is a passing MBE score in jurisdictions that require a 272-280 to pass) you should aim for 62%-65%. This means you should get 62-65 questions correct on a 100-question practice test or 124-130 questions correct on a full MBE exam.  
• If you are aiming for an MBE score of 144 (which is considered passing in California), you should aim for about a 67%. This means you should get 67 questions correct on a 100-question practice exam or 134 questions correct on a 200-question practice exam. 

So, as a general rule, if you are answering somewhere between 60 and 67%, your MBE raw score is in the “passing zone” depending on the jurisdiction you are in.

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