What is the lowest score to pass the MBE?

Asked by: Prof. Jayde Bruen  |  Last update: August 15, 2023
Score: 4.5/5 (20 votes)

Well... in most states you really only need a score of 131-135 to pass the MBE®. Scoring higher than needed on the MBE exam is actually very beneficial, because in most states, any number over passing will be added to MEE score, which will give you a better chance of passing the exam!

Is there a minimum MBE score?

Note that the vast majority of states do not have a requisite MBE score. So long as you receive an overall passing score on the bar exam, you will pass! For example, New York requires a 266 to pass the exam.

What is a passing score on MBE?

This is the raw score or the percentage of questions answered correctly out of a possible 190. Calculate the percentage by dividing 115 by 190: 60.52%. That's the minimum number of questions you need to get right to pass the MBE.

Is 60% on the MBE good?

If you are answering about 60-66% correct on the MBE, you are likely in the “safe zone.” A higher score than that is, of course, even better! If you are scoring lower than that, see below for tips. But also, make sure that you work on the written portion of the exam.

How many do you need to get right on MBE to pass?

In most jurisdictions, there is no minimum MBE score!

You should aim to get at least a 133 on the MBE and a 133 on the written portion when you practice. But, you do not “need” a 133 on each portion. You could just as easily pass with a 120 on the MBE and a 146 on the written portion! So, keep that in mind.

Bar Exam: Improve Your MBE Score (Multistate Bar Exam)

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Can you pass the bar with a low MBE score?

While it would be great to ace every potion of your bar exam, you don't necessarily need to get a passing MBE score to pass the bar. Often, students are able to balance out lower MBE scores with higher essays scores. In UBE states, the MBE and essays are weighted equally.

How bad can you do on the MBE and still pass?

You could get a 130 on the MBE and a 136 on the written portion. Or a 110 on the MBE and a 156 on the written portion. In other words, in most states there is no minimum MBE score that you need to pass.

What is the hardest section on MBE?

Nevertheless, many future attorneys who have taken or are currently preparing for the bar exam seem to agree that the following three subjects are the most challenging:
  1. Real Property. ...
  2. Contracts. ...
  3. Civil Procedure.

Is the MBE easy?

2) The MBE is hard

Most people regard the MBE as the hardest portion of the bar exam. The questions are rarely easy or straightforward. They can be tricky, and sometimes worded in a way that guides you to the wrong answer. The only upside of the MBE is, again, that you know ahead of time what subjects will be tested.

What are the hardest MBE subjects?

What Are The Most Highly Tested MBE Topics?
  • Torts: (25 questions)
  • Evidence: (25 questions)
  • Real Property: (25 questions)
  • Contracts and Sales: (25 questions)
  • Civil Procedure (25 questions)
  • Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure: (25 questions)
  • Constitutional Law: (25 questions)

How many questions can you miss on the MBE?

That means you'll need to get 115 questions correct out of 190 — or that you can miss up to 75 questions and still pass the MBE!

Is MBE score curved?

MBE score results consistently follow a bell curve pattern for every single bar exam administration. A few students have a very high MBE scaled score and some have a very low scaled score. Most bar takers fall right in the middle, within a few points of each other.

Is 150 on the MBE good?

Your percentile for the MBE Score is as follows:

A 160 is about 90th percentile. A 155 is about 82nd percentile. A 150 is about 72nd percentile. A 145 is about 62nd percentile.

What is the MBE score for 2023?

MADISON, WISCONSIN, March 31, 2023—The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) announced today that the national mean scaled score for the February 2023 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) was 131.1, a decrease of 1.5 points compared to the February 2022 mean of 132.6.

How can I improve my MBE score?

How To Improve Your MBE® Score
  1. Review, Reevaluate, and Revise Your Study Plan. ...
  2. Focus On Highly Tested Subjects. ...
  3. Practice, Practice, Practice. ...
  4. Practice in Exam-Like Conditions. ...
  5. Practice With Licensed Questions. ...
  6. Performance Monitoring With Custom Reports.

Why are my MBE scores going down?

Your MBE scores might be getting worse if you dive right into timing practice with 100 question sets. This is a very overwhelming exercise and it takes a lot of skill to be able to complete one of these, let alone complete it with a high score. You need to build up to 100 questions by starting smaller.

Does the MBE repeat questions?

Sometimes students take lots of multiple choice practice exams, get to the bar exam, and are thrown off by the MBE's question format. Avoid this by taking old MBE questions. The NCBE doesn't reuse old MBE questions, but you may come across questions that are very similar.

How many questions per hour for MBE?

Be Aware of Your Timing & Pace

To complete 100 MBE questions within each 3-hour session, you have 1.8 minutes (1 minute 48 seconds) per question. This will put you on pace to complete at least 33-34 questions per hour during each session.

How many practice questions before MBE?

Although there's no magic number, there is a general range of MBE practice questions you should complete. For most students, this optimal range is between 800-1000 questions. This includes both untimed questions and timed sections.

Is it normal to feel like you failed the MBE?

Remember, however, that feeling is normal because the bar exam is hard. A passing score for the bar exam is the equivalent of somewhere between 65% and 75%. In most jurisdictions, you need around a 266/400, which is 66.5%.

How long is break during MBE?

The Multistate Bar Exam, or MBE, is a six-hour exam consisting of 200 multiple-choice questions. The MBE is administered in two parts: a three-hour morning session with 100 questions, and a three-hour afternoon session with 100 questions. There's usually a one hour lunch between the two sessions.

What is the average raw MBE score?

You want to aim for a scaled score of at least 140-145 (which is the average score). Ideally, you should want a 150+ scaled score to have confidence to pass the exam.

What does MBE percent below mean?

Grading the MBE

The MBE also has raw scores (number of questions correct) that are converted to scaled scores. But you only see the scaled score on your score report. The “percent below” numbers are percentiles. This number means you did better than that percentage of test takers. The higher the number, the better.

What is a 119 MBE score?

MBE Scores – Raw vs.

The percentage needed for a passing MBE score in California is 67.5%. This means an MBE score of approximately 119 raw (119/175) is passing. A raw score of 119 should equal a scaled score of 144. Keep in mind, California uses a thousand-point scale.

What is a 125 score on the MBE?

In the case of the MBE, a raw score of 125 indicates that the candidate got more than half of the questions correct.