04 Mar Unsuccessful Applicants Info| FYLSX – October 2023
The following was posted on the State of California Bar website regarding those who did not pass the October 2023 exam.
The October 2023 First-Year Law Students’ Exam consisted of four essay questions and one session of
one hundred multiple-choice questions testing Contracts, Criminal Law, and Torts. The passing score
for the First-Year Law Students’ Examination is a total scaled score of 560 or higher. The enclosed
letter indicates your assigned grades on the essay portion of the examination, your total raw written
score, your raw totals on the multiple-choice portion of the examination, your total scaled written
score, your converted multiple-choice score, and your total scaled score.
GRADING
The anonymity of the applicant was preserved throughout the grading process. Applicants were
assigned code numbers (Exam Enrollment numbers) that were not known to the graders or
applicants until the results of the exam are released. The Committee of Bar Examiners is aware of the
importance of the First-Year Law Students’ Exam to each applicant and has established procedures
calculated to ensure a fair system of grading.
An applicant’s raw multiple-choice score will equal the number of questions answered correctly.
Through a process known as “equating,” the multiple-choice raw scores will be converted to a scale
with a theoretical maximum of 400 points. Because there are multiple forms of the exam, this
process adjusts for the possible differences between forms and administrations of the exam in the
average difficulty of the particular version of the exam that the applicant takes.
On the essay portion of the exam, applicants are initially graded on a basis of 400 maximum possible
points. An applicant can earn up to 100 raw points on each of the four essay questions. The raw essay
scores were converted, or “scaled,” to a distribution that has the same mean and standard deviation
of multiple-choice scale scores. Scaling was performed to adjust for the possible differences between
the difficulty of the essay questions and/or grading standards from one administration to the next. As
a result, an applicant’s scaled essay score will not be affected by the differences between
administrations in the difficulty of the essay questions or fluctuations in grading standards.
Your result letter indicates your essay grades, total raw written score, your raw totals on the
multiple-choice portion of the exam, your total scaled written score, your converted multiple-choice
score, and your total scaled score. An applicant’s total score on the exam is the sum of the
applicant’s scaled scores on the multiple-choice and essay portions. Equivalent weight is given to
each of the two portions in arriving at the total scaled score.
To confirm your total scaled score:
Converted multiple-choice score
Add your three multiple-choice scores. The sum of these scores is your total raw multiple-choice
score. Insert this value into the following formula:
Converted multiple-choice score = (Total raw multiple-choice score x 3.6110) + 20.2680
Scaled written score
Add your four essay grades. The sum of these is your total raw written score. Insert this value into
the following formula:
Scaled written score = (Total raw written score x 2.1228) – 319.2054
Your total scaled score is the sum of the two products above.
RETURN OF ESSAY ANSWERS
Applicants’ essay answer files are posted to the Applicant Portal for four weeks (until January 5,
2024). Please print/save copies for your records.
INSPECTION OF THE MULTIPLE-CHOICE PORTION OF EXAM
You may inspect the multiple-choice portion of the exam, in a proctored situation, at the Office of
Admissions – San Francisco or Los Angeles. One and a half hour appointments may be scheduled at
10:30 a.m. or at 1:30 p.m., December 18 through January 26, 2024. Appointments must be made in
advance and will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. You are limited to a single appointment
and note taking is not permitted. To make an appointment, please email the Office of Admissions at
Admissions@calbar.ca.gov and a staff member will contact you to set an appointment. Please
remember to specify which of the two State Bar offices you plan to visit, San Francisco or Los
Angeles.
FIRST-YEAR LAW STUDENTS’ EXAM STUDY AIDS
Essay Questions and Selected Answers for the past several administrations of the First-Year Law
Students’ Exam are available online free of charge. Those for the October 2023 exam will be posted
approximately 4-6 weeks after the release of results. Any requests for exam Essay Questions and
Selected Answers from earlier administrations of the exam must be submitted using the First-Year
Law Students’ Exam Study Aids Form and accompanied by the appropriate fee(s).
CREDIT FOR LAW STUDY COMPLETED
An applicant who is required to pass the First-Year Law Students’ Exam will not receive credit for any
law study until the applicant passes the exam. An applicant who passes the exam within three
consecutive administrations of first becoming eligible to take the exam will receive credit for all law
study completed to the date of the administration of the exam passed, subject to any restrictions
otherwise covered by the Admission Rules. An applicant who does not pass the exam within three
consecutive administrations of first becoming but who subsequently passes the exam will receive
credit for his or her first year of law study only. If any of the first three administrations of the First-
Year Law Students’ Exam includes the June 2020 administration. That exam shall not be counted
towards the requirements above
For more info State Bar of California Exam Results