LSAT Performance Trends: US v Canada v. International
LSAC recently conducted an analysis of performance trends of test takers over the past 7 years, from 2005 through the February 2012 LSAT looking at such factors as location of test takers, as well as their race, ethnicity and gender. The results reveal some interesting trends. Important to note, however, this was not necessarily a scientific study. As LSAC points out, the results were based on the self-reporting of test-takers, and were not necessarily a representative study.
The majority of people who took the LSAT over the past 7 years took it within the United States, and only a small minority took it elsewhere; just slightly more than 7% of registrants took the LSAT in Canada, while just over 2% took it in an alternate country. While the number of people registering for the LSAT in the United States has been steadily declining, those seeking to take the exam in other countries has been on the increase.
Even as the overall numbers of people taking the LSAT in the United States has dropped, there has been consistency in the distribution of test takers throughout the US. The highest percentage of people taking the LSAT is in the Northeast (approximately 16%) while the smallest percentage is in the Northwest (approximately 2%) LSAC reports that performance has also remained steady, with those testing in New England scoring highest while those in the Southeast and South Central regions score, on average, the lowest. (In 2012 the mean score of New Englanders was 153, while the mean score of those in the South Central Regions was 149). Those taking the LSAT in New England had a higher percentage of scores of 162 or greater. Students taking the exam in Canada scored slightly higher mean test scores than those taking it in the US. (In 2012, the mean score for Canadian students was approximately 152.63, while the mean for US students was 150.42). A greater percentage of scores over 151 was found among those taking the test outside the United States. (The mean for students taking the test in foreign countries was 152.49)The percentage of students receiving scores between 149 and 166 was higher for those in Canada than in the US. (In the 2011-2012 testing year, Canadian scores were clustered in the 152-160 score range). LSAC saw that the largest number of test takers took the September/October and December tests, yet the scores were slightly higher for those taking the test in June and September/October.
As indicated above, these results are based on student information provided to LSAC. LSAC did not look at students who prepped for the test in some manner.
In the coming weeks, we’ll give more detailed analysis of the cross-sectioning in the full report contained here: http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/research/tr/pdf/tr-1203.pdf.
