Whether you choose to take the traditional LSAT or the remote LSAT-Flex option, your completed exam will undergo a scoring and conversion process that results in your official LSAT score. Students should focus on doing their best and getting a decent score, which they can find by logging onto the LSAC website about 20 days after their test date.
Range
LSAT scores range between 120 and 180, with 120 being the lowest and 180 being the highest LSAT score possible. Only the Analytical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, and two-part Logical Reasoning portions of the exam receive a score. An unscored Variable section validates questions for future tests, while the Writing Sample (also unscored) goes to your chosen law school for possible evaluation.
How Is the LSAT Scored?
Since incorrect responses are unpenalized, your LSAT score reflects the number of correctly-answered questions on your test. Based on how many correct responses you have, you'll receive a raw score which converts to a scaled score between 120 and 180. You'll also notice that your LSAT score lists a percentile ranking that shows how well you did on the exam compared to former test takers.
Raw Score Conversion
Raw score calculations come from the number of correct responses you give out of the total 100 or so multiple-choice questions on the LSAT. You get your scaled score by taking your raw score and applying it to the corresponding score on the LSAT conversion chart. LSAT-Flex scoring works the same way, though the remote test currently lacks a Variable or Experimental section.
LSAT Scaled Score
LSAT raw score conversion occurs through equating, which is a statistical process that adjusts for minor difficulty variations in an attempt to establish a common scoring scale across multiple test forms. A partial pretest on the experimental sections of the LSAT creates the data that enables this process.
If you took the remote exam, your LSAT-Flex score conversion process is the same. Generally, three correct responses translate to three raw points, which converts into about two points on your scaled score. Each of your scaled score points adds up to create your test score on a scale between 120 and 180.
Variations in Scoring
While this is the typical calculation process for LSAT scores, the exact point values can vary from test to test. You can answer a few questions wrong and still earn the highest LSAT score of 180. However, you'll need to get between 14 and 17 questions right to earn the lowest score of 120. Your score report will show your current scaled score and the results for any tests you took up to five years prior.
Percentile Ranking
Your official LSAT score report will also include your percentile rankings, which shows the percentage of test-takers over a recent three-year period who received lower scaled scores than you. If you get a scaled score of 166 and your percentile rank is 94.3%, it indicates that 94.3% of all LSAT test-takers within a specific period scored lower than 166.
Relationship Between Scaled Scores & Percentiles
Each scaled LSAT score correlates to a certain percentile ranking. For example, a score of 180 puts you in the 99.9th percentile, while a 151 scaled score places you in the 48.5th percentile. Slight changes in your raw and scaled scores can have a profound effect on your LSAT percentile rankings, so keep that in mind when setting goals for the LSAT score you want to achieve.
Only you and the law schools you apply to will be able to see your official LSAT test results.
As the structure of the LSAT and LSAT-Flex change over time, so will variations and practices for LSAT scoring.
On the table below, you'll find a depiction of the current sample ranges for converted LSAT scores:
What Is a Good LSAT Score?
Law school LSAT score standards vary by institution, so the same score can be adequate for one school and too low for another.
A common tactic is to aim for a score that matches the highest LSAT score requirement for your chosen law school. Applicants who score 170 or higher are most likely to get into the nation's top institutions, but those with scores in the mid-150s have a chance as well.
Average Scores
Students who answer 55 to 56 of the LSAT questions correctly typically earn the average LSAT score of 150 and land in the 44.7th percentile. While there is no official LSAT passing score or failing score, students who are unsatisfied with their scores can study, complete practice tests, and retake the exam to try and earn higher marks.
Practice
Get a Feel for How Long It Takes
Due to the exam's structure, many test-takers find it difficult to finish each section of the LSAT within the time limit. However, rather than rushing through the test to answer every question, take a practice LSAT exam and learn how to pace yourself while correctly answering as many questions as you can.