Test, Experimental, and Scale Help

LSAT vs. Future Salary: The Importance of Test Preparation

LSAT Questions and Answers

When to Take the LSAT

Accommodated Testing

Test Day Preparations

The Experimental Section Explained

The LSAT Scoring Scale Explained

Historical Range of Correct Answers for Targeted Scores

Comprehensive Law Services LSAT Publication Identifier List

Historical Range of Correct Answers for Targeted Scores

Students preparing for the LSAT often wonder exactly how many correct answers are required to obtain a particular score. The chart below lists the number of correct answers needed to achieve scores from 150 to 180 (in five-point increments) on every released LSAT test over the last five years. Numbers are drawn from the scoring scales used for each exam.

LSAT	150	155	160	165	170	175	180
June 2005	61	69	77	84	90	94	98
October 2005	59	68	77	84	90	95	99
December 2005	58	68	78	86	93	97	100
June 2006	60	67	76	84	90	95	99
September 2006	59	68	77	84	90	94	98
December 2006	56	65	74	82	89	***	98
June 2007	59	69	78	86	92	96	99
September 2007	57	66	75	83	89	***	97
December 2007	57	66	75	83	89	94	98
June 2008	60	69	78	85	91	95	99
September 2008	59	69	77	85	91	95	99
December 2008	57	66	74	82	89	94	98
June 2009	57	66	75	83	90	95	99
September 2009	58	67	75	84	90	95	99
December 2009	57	65	73	81	87	93	98
June 2010	57	65	73	81	87	93	98
Averages	58.06	66.94	75.69	83.50	89.81	94.64	98.44

One of the more noticeable trends in the above chart is that, depending on the test year, different raw scores translate into equivalent scaled scores. The reason for this apparent discrepancy is that the LSAT varies slightly in difficulty each administration. To account for these variances in test "toughness," the test makers adjust the Scoring Conversion Chart for each LSAT in order to make similar LSAT scores from different tests mean the same thing. For example, the LSAT offered in June of a given year may be logically more difficult than the LSAT offered in December, but by making the June LSAT scale "looser" than the December scale, a 160 on each test would represent the same level of performance.

Test takers can draw important conclusions about their own performance from both the average raw scores and the standard deviations. For instance, though the average raw score corresponding to a scaled 160 is 75.69, the standard deviation shows that a majority of the scores are within ± 1.85 of this number, or from roughly 74 to 78. A student wishing to score 160 on an upcoming test should then expect, with a reasonable degree of confidence, that correctly answering somewhere between 74 and 78 questions correctly would result in that score. Similar conditions apply for a score of 170, where, with the standard deviation adjustment, a raw score between roughly 87 and 91 is likely needed.

Perhaps most important of all for the potential test taker is to realize that achieving a desired score does not require perfect performance. Each of the raw scores above is the number correct out of 99, 100, or 101 questions, so it is clear that missed questions, within reason, are acceptable regardless of the desired score. Even perfect scores usually allow for two or three incorrect answer choices. Again, the averages and standard deviations listed are useful tools in determining an acceptable number of missed questions, whether setting pre-test objectives or evaluating your performance in the week following the LSAT when scores may still be cancelled.

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