The Alaska Supreme Court signed an order on Monday that lowers the score needed to pass the Uniform Bar Examination in order to practice law in Alaska.
The old score needed was 280. The new score is 270, a 3.57% decrease in the passing score. The rule takes effect immediately.
Some applicants just finished the February 2023 Alaska Bar Exam, and their results won’t be known until May. For those who took the February 2023 exam, but did not score high enough but had previously scored a 270 or above on the exam, the Bar Association said it will be reaching out to discuss the best way to gain admission to the bar. Some may be able to apply if they previously had a score of 270 within the past five years.
Uniform Bar Exam states like Alaska have different scoring requirement but test-takers require a score typically between 260 and 280 to pass one of these two-day tests. A score above 280 is considered passing in all Uniform Bar Exam states.
Most states, Alaska included, allow qualifying applicants who graduated from an accredited law school to take the test an unlimited number of times, if they need to, while others put limits on the number of attempts. Sen. Lisa Murkowski failed to get a 280 score four times on the Alaska test, but passed the exam on her fifth try. In 21 states, bar exam attempts are limited from between two and six tries. States with absolute limits on the number of attempts are:
| Kansas – 4 |
| Kentucky – 5 |
| New Hampshire – 4 |
| North Dakota – 6 |
| Rhode Island – 5 |
| Vermont – 4 |
Alaska’s bar exam is administered three times a year, with the next two-day test scheduled July 25-26.
More details on the Alaska Bar Exam from the Alaska Bar Association at this link.
