ccmic

Scaled scores in Feb. are usually around 137, while scaled scores in July are usually around 142. Reason being because Feb. test takers are comprised of more repeat test takers (ie, those who scored poorly enough last time on the overall bar exam to fail). Therefore, this lower legal knowledge of more individuals in the group is reflected by bringing down the average scaled score of the entire group for that exam administration.

Scaled Scores by themselves tell you exactly how well you did relative to all others in your own test administration AND everyone else who has EVER taken the MBE. For those trying to figure out how well they did before they get their overall bar exam results (ie, pass or fail), that released national average SCALED score matters little: it doesn't tell you anything about how difficult the test was OR give you, as an INDIVIDUAL, any additional idea of how much legal knowledge you demonstrated compared with how much legal knowledge others from your own exam adminstration demonstrated -- you need to see your own scaled score to determine that second factor, which is a moot point by then (except for Arizona exam takers, who get their MBE scores before finding out whether they passed or not), because you know whether you passed or failed at the same time (if you're state tells you your scaled score in addition to whether you passed or not).

Bottom line to determining how you did on the MBE and whether you passed or not???

1. You need to know the curve of your own particular exam administration to gauge how difficult the test you took was, in objective actuality.

(BTW, the curve is not a set number of points added to all scores...it is actually a formula for converting raw to scaled, where the dependent variable (i.e., the "X" axis) is raw and independent variable (i.e., the "Y" axis) is scaled. That formula can only be figured out beforehand, by anxious examinees, by extrapolating algebraically using other individuals' reported data of their raw and scaled scores -- which is one reason why jdundergound is so useful. To see a further discussion of this, and how to compute the formula, search this site for my handle -- "mjs123" -- and the words "formula" and "MBE".)

2. You need to have a good idea of how you think you did on the MBE and the rest of the exam.

3. You need to understand how the MBE fits in to your own particular state's bar exam pass/fail standards.