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Reviewed: 8/14/23
One of the many exams aspiring lawyers must complete to become licensed is the MPRE. To learn more about the score you require to pass the MPRE, read on!
Aside from the LSAT, most students must also write the MBE, MPT, MBE, MPRE, and UBE. With so many different exams, with such similar names, keeping track of all the passing requirements can be overwhelming and confusing!
To take it one step at a time, this guide will focus on the MPRE passing scores. While the MPRE is required for bar admission in almost every state in the U.S., the passing scores vary by state.
This guide will cover the passing score for each state and go over how many questions you need to answer correctly to meet these scores!
While the passing scores fluctuate over time, these are the current MPRE passing scores by state.
Source: NCBEX
The only jurisdictions that do not require the MPRE are Wisconsin and Puerto Rico. Additionally, Connecticut and New Jersey allow law students to complete a course on professional responsibility instead of writing the MPRE.
Now that you know the MPRE passing score for your state, you might be wondering why the scores exceed the number of questions on the actual test. While you will have to answer 60 questions on the MPRE, your score doesn’t directly reflect the number of questions you answer correctly.
Instead, the MPRE uses a calculated scale to determine your final score. Students will receive a score in the range of 50-150 depending on how many questions they answer correctly.
This calculated score benefits students because it accounts for differences in difficulties on the exam. This way, the exam is more fair and students are held to the same standards from one test to another.
Out of the 60 questions you answer, only 50 will actually be scored. The weighting of each question fluctuates every year, depending on the level of difficulty of current and past exams. As such, it’s nearly impossible to get a definite answer to the exact amount of questions you need to answer correctly to achieve a certain score.
However, in general, you can follow the table below to figure out approximately how many questions you should get correctly in order to achieve your passing score:
Source: NCBEX
Remember, these are approximations and should not be used as precise targets. To stay on the safe side, you should aim a few points higher than these numbers to ensure you pass your MPRE. For instance, if your state requires an 85, consider aiming for a 38-39 as your minimum score instead of 36-37.
In case you have any remaining questions about the MPRE passing scores, read on to find your answers.
Utah currently has the highest MPRE score requirement at 86.
Unlike the LSAT, getting a higher than average MPRE score won’t get you any brownie points. You essentially just need to pass your MPRE in order to meet the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ expectations. So, you don’t have to stress over getting a score that is much higher than your state’s passing minimum.
A good score to aim for will be a few points over your minimum passing score. By aiming a bit higher, you can account for the test anxiety and nerves that might make you score lower than you did on your practice tests! Round up to the nearest 10 to ensure you meet your passing score on test day.
For instance, if your state’s MPRE passing score is 76, aim for an 80!
Yes! The highest passing score requirement is 86, so a 105 is a great MPRE score.
Depending on your minimum passing score, you can get between 22-27 questions wrong to meet your score.
Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin Islands all have the lowest MPRE passing score of 75.
There are several ways to study for the MPRE. The first step most law students take is enrolling in a professional responsibility course at their law school to familiarize themselves with legal ethics. Other than this preliminary course, it would be helpful to go over the subject matter of the test and practice using mock exams!
Begin with a few practice questions and then make your way up to completing full-length practice exams under the same two-hour time restraints you’d be in during test day.
If you feel overwhelmed with your MPRE studies, know there are experts that can help! Juris has a team of 99th percentile tutors that can increase your score with personalized support that focuses on identifying and improving what matters most.
While many students take the exam during their second or third year of law school, you should complete the MPRE when you have enough time to prepare for it! Law students generally opt to take the exam during the summer to focus solely on studying for the exam.
The MPRE tends to have mixed reviews when it comes to determining difficulty. In general, students find the content of the questions to be difficult. This is because the MPRE tests on specific ethical questions that are challenging to answer in multiple-choice format. It often seems like more than one answer could be correct.
Excelling on the MPRE requires good memorization and critical thinking skills. A common mistake students make is thinking they can just memorize ethics content to pass the exam. Ensure you actually understand the principles behind the ethics, so you can apply them to different questions!
To maximize your chances of passing the MPRE, ensure you also dedicate enough time to study. A few weeks is usually more than enough time to prepare for this exam.
After finding your passing score and assessing how many questions you should aim to answer correctly, you should be on your way to creating a comprehensive MPRE study schedule. This carefully crafted study plan will help you ace your MPRE and get you one huge step closer to becoming a licensed lawyer!
Good luck!
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