New York Bar Exam Score Calculator
The following calculator will calculate the total score for the February 2012 New York bar exam administration based on the scale scores you enter. A total score of 665 is required to pass the New York bar exam. Please note the calculator only provides an estimate of your final score. The accuracy of the calculator diminishes with very high or very low scores. The calculated NYMC Scale Score is also an estimate.
According to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, the answers to the five essay questions and the MPT are each graded in accordance with a predetermined marking formula, and the grades attained by the applicant on the respective questions are the raw essay scores. The total number of questions answered correctly by an applicant on the 50 New York multiple choice questions is the raw score for that portion, and the number of questions answered correctly on the MBE questions is the applicant's raw score for the MBE portion. Through psychometrically approved scaling procedures based on the MBE scale, the raw scores on each portion of the examination are converted to scaled scores on a common scale of 0 to 1000, and the three scaled scores are then weighted and combined to yield total weighted scaled scores on the same 0 to 1000 scale.
Since the essays are scaled based on the MBE scale, the lower your Essays/MPT written average score, the higher the scale. For example, a February 2012 Essays/MPT written average score of 50 resulted in a scale factor of 1.3026 while a written average of 30 resulted in a scale factor of 1.4057. This scale factor is reported in the last row of the calculator in the Common Scale Score column.
The weighted scores for the individual essays and MPT are in italics because these weighted scores are approximations based on the scale used to calculate the Written Average weighted score. If you were to add up these individual weighted score estimates for the essays/MPT, the total would be close to the Written Average Weighted Score, but not exact.
There is a graphical breakdown of your score to help you identify your weak areas (In the exam, the Essays are 40%, MPT 10%, NYMC 10%, and the MBE is 40%). In addition, the default scores on the calculator are based on the average scores of all the grading sheets submitted to me for this administration. Since you only receive a grading sheet if you fail, these averages represent the score averages for those who failed the exam and submitted their grading sheet information to me.
The Estimated Score on Previous Administrations section reports the final score you would have received on prior administrations along with the scale factor for each administration.
NOTE TO FEBRUARY 2012 EXAMINEES: There appears to be a rounding error on examinee Score Reports if the scaled MBE score is either a whole integer (e.g. 126.0) or has a decimal place of .5 (e.g. 134.5). In such instances, the Common Scaled Score is sometimes incorrectly rounded up to the nearest .5. For example, if you had a scaled MBE score of 126.0, your Common Scaled Score should be 630 (126.0 x 5), but the Common Scaled Score on the Score Report is 630.5. If you had a scaled MBE score of 134.5, your Common Scaled Score should be 672.5 (134.5 x 5), but the Common Scaled Score on the Score Report is 673. This rounding error does not occur in every instance of a whole integer or a decimal of .5. For example, if you had a scaled MBE score of 122.0, your Common Scaled Score would correctly be 610 (122.0 x 5). Examinees who encounter this have no reason to complain - the rounding error is in your favor (by 1/5 of a point towards your final score). However, I am not taking this rounding error into account, so you may find that your total score on the below calculator is one point less than your actual score.
Note to re-takers: With more grading sheet information, I can continue to increase the precision of these calculators while also reporting the scoring averages and other information. It would be greatly appreciated if you could email me your past grading sheets or their contents so that I can improve the calculators. Alternatively, you can submit your previous bar exam scores to me electronically by completing the following online form. All information submitted will be treated confidentially. For more information on the free score analysis report or essay analysis report, click here.
Based on reports from others, below are the topics on the February 2012 NY bar exam essays. These topics will be updated if necessary when the February 2012 exam is released.
| Exam | Q # | Main Question | Sub Question |
| Feb-12 | 1 | Contracts/UCC | Property |
| Feb-12 | 2 | Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure |
| Feb-12 | 3 | Domestic Relations | Corporations |
| Feb-12 | 4 | New York Practice | Torts |
| Feb-12 | 5 | Wills | Trusts |
| Feb-12 | MPT | Persuasive Memorandum | |
According to the New York State Board of Law Examiners, the essay and MPT answers of each applicant who receives an initial total weighted scaled score of 655 through 664 are re-read and re-graded by graders other than the initial graders. The two scaled scores for each essay answer are averaged to determine a final scaled score for each essay. The examination scores are then recomputed to determine each applicant's final scaled score. There is no appeal from this final score. There is no passing or failing on any one portion of the examination. Thus, a poor performance on one section of the examination may be offset by a superior performance on another section. Passing or failing is determined only on the basis of the applicant's total weighted scaled score.
If you have any additional questions or comments, please email me at joe@seperac.com.
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