ABA To Vote Today On Making LSAT Optional Beginning With Fall 2026 1L Class

Reuters, Judgment Day Looms for ABA’s Hotly Debated LSAT Requirement:

The American Bar Association’s policy-making body is slated on Monday to decide whether to drop the longstanding requirement that law schools use the Law School Admission Test or another standardized test when admitting students.

If the ABA’s House of Delegates approves the change when it meets [this] week in New Orleans, law schools will be fully “test optional”—though not until the fall of 2025. ...

The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar preliminarily approved the rule change in November, adding a last-minute provision that delays implementation until 2025 to give schools time to prepare. Approval by the House of Delegates is the final step.

Those who oppose the change, including [60] law school deans, have warned that eliminating the LSAT requirement will make admissions decisions more dependent on undergraduate grade-point averages and subjective measures such as the prestige of an applicant’s college, which they say could disadvantage minority applicants.

Those who want the rule removed argue that the LSAT is a barrier for minority would-be lawyers because on average they score below white test takers, and because law schools rely too heavily on those scores. A 2019 study found the average score for Black LSAT takers was 142, compared to 153 for white and Asian test takers.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• New York Times, ABA May Eliminate Standardized Tests For Law School Admissions (May 7, 2022)
• Wall Street Journal, ABA Council Votes To Advance Proposal Permitting Law Schools To Go Test Optional. What Are The Implications Of Admitting Students Who Don't Take The LSAT Or GRE? (May 23, 2022)
• Newsweek, In Defense Of The LSAT (May 28, 2022)
• Inside Higher Ed, The ABA Proposes Eliminating Standardized Tests For Law School Admissions (June 16, 2022)
• Law.com, So Far, Public Comments Largely Support ABA Proposal To Make Law School Admission Tests Optional (June 22, 2022)
• Wall Street Journal, The LSAT And Other Standardized Tests Are Good For Diversity (July 25, 2022)
• Law.com, ABA Gaining Public Support In Proposal To Make Law School Admission Tests Optional (Aug. 3, 2022)
• ABA Journal, ABA Loosens Distance Learning Accreditation Standard; Council Withdraws Diversity Proposal After Public Criticism (Aug. 9, 2022)
• Higher Ed Dive, More On The ABA's Proposal To Make Law School Admission Tests Optional (Aug. 27, 2022)
• ABA, Over 100 Comments On Proposal To Make Law School Admission Tests Optional (Sept. 5, 2022)
• Letter, Sixty Deans Oppose The ABA's Proposal To Make Law School Admission Tests Optional (Sept. 2, 2022)
• Law.com, As ABA Deadline Ends, More Than 100 Public Comments Highlight Split Over Law School Admissions Test Requirement  (Sept. 7, 2022)
• Inside Higher Ed, If ABA Makes LSAT Optional, Will U.S. News Follow Its College Rankings Approach: Reduce Weight Given LSAT Medians (11.25%), Punish Schools (15% Reduction) With < 50% Test-Takers? (Sept. 14, 2022)
• Reuters, ABA Moves Closer To Ending LSAT Requirement For Law Schools (Nov. 8, 2022)
• Brian Leiter (Chicago), The End Of The LSAT Is Coming: What Will U.S. News Do? (Nov. 12, 2022)
• Reuters, Survey: Many Law Schools Won't Abandon LSAT If ABA Votes On Friday To Give Schools That Option (Nov. 16, 2022)
• ABA Legal Ed Council Votes 15-1 To Make LSAT Optional Beginning With Fall 2026 1L Class (Nov. 19, 2022)
• More Commentary On The ABA's Push To Make The LSAT Optional In Law School Admissions (Dec. 1, 2022)
• How Diversity Is Lingering Over The LSAT And U.S. News Law School Rankings (Jan. 26, 2023)
• ABA To Vote Today On Making LSAT Optional Beginning With Fall 2026 1L Class (Feb. 6, 2023)