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The LSAT is scored on a scale from 120 to 180, with 120 being the lowest and 180 the highest possible score. The scoring process involves converting your raw score (the number of questions answered correctly) into a scaled score through a process called equating, which adjusts for variations in test difficulty. Each question is weighted equally, and there are no penalties for incorrect answers.
The LSAT contains four multiple-choice sections and about 100 questions in total, but only 75 to 78 are scored. Because one section is experimental for future exams, that section is unscored. Although you aren’t told which section is experimental, if you see a third Logical Reasoning section, you can deduce that one of them is the experimental one. The same goes if you see a second reading comprehension section.
Percentiles are also provided to show how your score compares to others. For example, a score of 152 is around the 43rd percentile, while 165 places you around the 85th percentile. If you are in the 46th percentile, that means 46% of test takers scored lower than you. Because different students take the LSAT each year, percentiles can fluctuate annually.
Take a look at an example conversion chart:
Your raw score is the number of questions you answer correctly in each section. As of August 2024, the LSAT consists of two Logical Reasoning sections and one Reading Comprehension section, which is roughly 75 to 78 scored questions.
The Experimental Section does not count toward your score, and test takers aren't told which section it is. The LSAT Argumentative Writing doesn't count toward your score either, but it’s mandatory so law schools can get a sense of your authentic, unassisted writing voice.
LSAC runs your raw score through a process called equating, which is a statistical process that accounts for how difficult your particular test was. Equating is what makes a 165 earned in August mean the same thing as a 165 earned the following June. The result is your scaled score, the 120 to 180 number that appears on your score report and goes out to schools.
Every LSAT administration varies in difficulty. LSAC writes each test to the same specifications, but there are small variations that cause some exams to be slightly harder than others.
Equating helps correct the variations in difficulty. If a certain test is harder than average, LSAC requires fewer correct answers to reach a given scaled score. If it's a bit easier, you would need more to reach the same scaled score. That’s why a raw score of 70 might convert to a 165 on one test and a 163 on another.
Equating works in your favor because it ensures that nobody is punished for choosing a difficult test date and that no test date is secretly "easier" than any other.
Improving your LSAT score comes from consistent, targeted practice, not just from more hours studying without a plan. Here is where I point students first:
Mika MacDonald, an Inspira LSAT counselor and graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, scored a 179 on her LSAT. In this webinar, LSAT 101 - Everything You Need To Know, she covers everything from study plans to strategies for confidently tackling complex logical reasoning questions:
Yes, the score validity period for the LSAT lasts five testing years past the year you earn your score. Testing years run July 1 through June 30, so a score from the July 2026 to June 2027 cycle stays reportable through June 2032. Schools receive every reportable result on your file, including cancellations and absences.
The LSAC does not publish an average LSAT score, but the 50th percentile scored 154. Applicants competitive at top schools typically score 170 or higher, which places them above 94% of test takers.
You can get about eight to eleven questions wrong and still score a 170 on the LSAT. The current test has roughly 75 to 78 scored questions, so that works out to three or four misses per section. The exact number shifts with each administration because LSAC equates every test to account for difficulty.
LSAC administers the LSAT eight times per year in the United States and Canada and releases scores about two to three weeks after each test date. Test dates spread across most months of the testing year. First-time test takers must complete LSAT Argumentative Writing and get it approved before LSAC releases any score.
LSAT Flex was a shortened, remotely proctored version of the LSAT that LSAC created during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it no longer exists. It ran three sections instead of the standard format and used its own scoring scale. Any Flex score fell outside the current reportable window years ago, so it carries no weight in admissions today.
Co-Founder of Juris Education, Dartmouth College
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