The recent report by Reuters highlights a significant decline in the national Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) mean score, which has reached an unprecedented low of 130.8. Despite previous hopes for improved scores, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) attributes this decline partly to California's decision to administer its own exam. Bob Schwartz, NCBE's managing director, emphasized that while California's absence affects national averages, a broader decline is observed across all test-takers, particularly among repeat examinees who made up a majority of those testing in February 2025.
The decrease in this February's mean represents a change in population and a change in overall performance. In four of the past five years, the MBE mean for California has been higher than the mean for the combined non-California jurisdictions, so it makes sense that removing California from the national pool might bring the national mean down slightly.
Excluding California from the comparison, we saw a decline in performance across all groups of examinees this February; first-time test takers' performance declined by about a point, while repeaters' performance was down by about 0.7 points.
The average MBE scores are down to a dismal 130.8. This is (once again) the lowest February MBE score on record.
The blame for the decreased MBE score cannot be placed solely upon California's shoulders.
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