What Is A Good MBE Raw Score On The Bar Exam?

What Is A Good MBE Raw Score On The Bar Exam?

Making sense of your bar results can be a difficult task. One common question our students ask is “What is a good raw score on the MBE?” After all, you want to know what score you should aim for in order to pass. While the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) no longer releases data showing the conversion between raw and converted scores, we have a few tips for determining what your raw score target should be.

What Is A Good MBE Raw Score On The Bar Exam?

1. Understand the Terminology

Your MBE results may be presented in three ways: raw score, converted score, and percentile. Your raw score is the number of questions you got correct. The MBE will ask 200 questions, but only 175 are scored. Your converted score (also called a “scaled score”)  is the result of NCBE calculations that add some points to your raw score, and your percentile shows how well you did in relation to other test takers.

2. What is a Good MBE Raw Score?

A good raw MBE score is a passing score in your jurisdiction. Different jurisdictions require different scores to pass, so you should look up this information beforehand and tailor your personal goal accordingly. For example, if your jurisdiction requires an MBE score of 136-140 to pass, you should aim for getting 62%-65% correct. If you’re taking the MBE in California, you’ll need a score of 144, which is the rough equivalent of getting 67% correct.

Learn more about what MBE raw score is passing here and be sure to check out this MBE raw to scaled score conversion chart!

3. Once You Determine Your Target, Get to Work!

While calculating your target raw MBE score is an important step in creating your bar preparation strategy, it’s only a small piece of the puzzle. Once you know how many questions you’ll need to get correct, get to work on learning and applying the legal concepts you’ll be tested on. A great way to practice for the MBE is to use real MBE questions released by the NCBE. Unlike questions that bar prep companies invent, these questions replicate the style and format of the questions you’ll see on test day.

The difference between your raw score, your scaled score, and your percentile can be confusing at first. However, understanding what a good MBE raw score is can help you plan your bar preparation accordingly and put you in a position to succeed on test day!

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