TALLAHASSEE – The passage rate for law school graduates taking the Florida bar exam for the first time in October was 71.7 percent – a rate that is on par with in-person bar exams since 2016, according to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
The first-timers who took the Oct. 13 exam, which was conducted remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, numbered 2,186, and the number who passed was 1,567, the board reported. The passage rate this year was slightly below the in-person exam administered in July 2019, when 73.9 percent of first-time exam-takers passed.
But the passage rate has bounced up and down since 2016, according to the board’s historical data. In July 2018, the rate stood at 67.2 percent; July 2017, 71.3 percent; and July 2016, 68.2 percent.
So during three of the four years prior to this year’s exam, the passing rate was lower than what it was in October, according to the board’s executive director, Michele Gavagni.
“The only one that was actually higher in this five-year cycle has been July of 2019,” Gavagni told the Florida Record. “The passing percentage (this year) was not an anomaly.”
It’s also important to point out that the online exam occurred over a single day and did not include a multistate bar examination (MBE), she said. In contrast, the in-person exams that occurred in previous years were administered over two days and included the MBE.
Overall, the Oct. 13 exam was not flawless, but it compared favorably to the previous exams, Gavagni said.
“The administration of the exam went very smoothly,” she said. “We were very pleased that such a high percentage of people were able to complete the entire examination with very few technical problems that were reported to the board.”
Such technical problems can also occur during in-person exams, according to Gavagni. Those who took the exam remotely this fall were able to get assistance from the software vendor if needed, ExamSoft, she said.
The February 2021 Florida bar exam will also be conducted remotely using the ExamSoft software, the board and the Florida Supreme Court announced earlier this month. That decision was based on COVID-19 infection rate trends. The February exam will include both a Florida-centric portion as well as the MBE, according to the board.
Gavagni also noted that the October exam had a greater number of test-takers than the July 2019 test. In recent years, the participation rate in the exam has fluctuated, with the highest number of test-takers – 2,421 – showing up for the July 2016 exam.