Indiana Bar Exam Passage Rates Continue To Decline

Indiana Bar Exam Passage Rates Continue To Decline

IL www.inmdianalawyer.com

The Indiana Bar Exam saw another drop in overall passage rate of its test takers as results of the July 2016 bar exam were released Monday.

The overall passage rate for the July 2016 Indiana Bar Exam was just 61 percent, a steep decrease compared to last July’s 72 percent passage rate.

A total of 508 people took the July 2016 test, with 309 passing. The overall passage rate for first-time takers was 68 percent.

This July, 94 people were repeat takers, the highest number in recent years for a July bar exam. Sixty-three people retook July 2015’s test; 80 people retook the test in 2014, and 73 people retook it in 2013. July’s number of repeat takers was more on par with the February bar exam, where 94 people retook it in February 2012 and 104 people took it again in the years 2014-16.

The overall passage rate for repeat takers was 28 percent for the July 2016 exam.

The percentage of students passing the bar has been in decline in Indiana and around the country in recent years. The July passage rate went from 78 percent in 2010 to 72 percent in 2014 and 2015 to this year’s 61 percent. The February bar passage rate, which typically is lower than the July exam due to more repeat test takers, also dipped. It went from 69 percent in 2010 to 61 percent in 2014. It bumped up to 64 percent in 2015 only to see a dramatic 13 percentage point drop in the 2016 results, which the Indiana Board of Law Examiners president called “stunning.”

The list of successful July bar exam applicants is available here. They must meet other requirements to be eligible for admission.