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Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University
Reviewed: 6/4/24
One of the many exams aspiring lawyers must complete to become licensed is the MPRE. Read on to learn more about the score you require to pass the MPRE!
Aside from the LSAT, most students must also write the MBE, MPT, MBE, MPRE, and UBE. With so many exams with 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!
The common minimum MPRE passing score of 85 relates to an exam with around 60% correct answers. MPRE scores go from 50 to 150. The average score is about 93-97, depending on where you take the test. If you get over 130, you're in the top 5% of MPRE score percentiles. But if you score 50, you're at the bottom.
The MPRE differs from the bar, which is required to practice as an attorney.
While the passing scores fluctuate over time, these are the current passing scores by state.
Source: NCBEX
Wisconsin and Puerto Rico are the only jurisdictions that do not require the MPRE. Additionally, Connecticut and New Jersey allow law students to complete a course on professional responsibility instead of writing the MPRE. Now that we’ve covered the MPRE passing score by state, let’s move on to what score you need to pass the MPRE.
You need a score of 85 to pass the MPRE in most states. This means you’ll want to answer around 60% of test questions correctly.
Now that you know your state's passing score, you might wonder why the scores exceed the number of questions on the 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 makes the exam more fair and ensures students are held to the same standards from one test to another.
Out of the 60 questions you answer, only 50 will be scored. The weighting of each question fluctuates every year, depending on the difficulty level of current and past exams. As such, it’s nearly impossible to get a definite answer to the exact number of questions you must 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 to achieve your passing score:
Source: NCBEX
Remember, these are approximations and should not be used as precise targets. To stay safe, it’s best you just aim to answer as many questions right as possible, rather than just aiming to get a set amount right!
The MPRE consists of twelve different sections that can broken down in the following way:
Source: MPRE
The MPRE is generally considered to be moderately challenging. The difficulty level varies from individual to individual based on their familiarity with legal ethics and professional conduct rules. People have found the bar exam more difficult than the MPRE.
While some find the MPRE to be manageable with focused study, others may perceive it as more challenging due to the nuanced nature of ethical scenarios presented in the exam. Adequate preparation, including review of relevant study materials and practice questions, is crucial for success on the MPRE.
If you have any remaining questions, read on to find your answers.
Utah currently has the highest MPRE score requirement at 86.
A good score to aim for will be a few points over your minimum passing score. Aiming a bit higher 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 passing score is 76, aim for an 80!
Yes! The highest passing score requirement is 86, so 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 have the lowest passing score of 75.
You can study for the MPRE by taking a professional responsibility course at your law school. Besides this preliminary course, it would be helpful to go over the test's subject matter 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 under during test day.
If you feel overwhelmed with your MPRE studies, know that some experts can help! Juris has a team of 99th-percentile MPRE tutors who can increase your score with personalized support that focuses on identifying and improving what matters most.
Law students should take the MPRE exam during the summer to focus solely on studying. 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!
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 specific ethical questions that are challenging to answer in a 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 understand the principles behind the ethics so you can apply them to different questions!
Test-takers typically wait around five weeks to get their MPRE results.
Your MPRE score will be accessible via your NCBE Account File Cabinet, but only until the next test administration. For instance, if you took the exam in August, you'll have access to your score until the November test. Remember to save your score within this timeframe!
Yes, you can take the MPRE more than once. Much like the bar, there are multiple opportunities for attempts.
Yes, you can take the bar exam without law school.
After finding your passing score and assessing how many questions you’ll need to answer correctly, you should be on your way to creating a comprehensive MPRE study plan. This carefully crafted study schedule will help you ace your MPRE and get you one step closer to becoming a licensed lawyer!
Good luck!
Reviewed by:
Former Head of Northeastern University's Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University
