417 examinees in five jurisdictions sat for the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) on October 1, 2020, including three jurisdictions that administered an October bar exam instead of the July bar exam and two jurisdictions that offered both a July and an October bar exam. Alternative test dates were used this year by many jurisdictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The national mean scaled score for October 1 examinees was 137.2.

Because of the low examinee counts for this year’s July, September, and October in-person administrations, a comparison of these results to previous years’ national results for the July administration is of limited value.

Approximately 29,000 additional examinees sat for a remotely administered exam using NCBE materials on October 5–6. Because that exam will be scored by the individual jurisdictions that administer it, NCBE will not have MBE mean score data to report for the remote option.

A bar graph of July, September, and October MBE national examinee counts, 2016-2020. 2016 = 46,518; 2017 = 46,627; 2018 = 45,274; 2019 = 45,334; July 2020 = 5,678; September 2020 = 1,811; October 2020 = 417. Approximately 29,000 additional examinees sat for a remotely administered exam using NCBE materials in October 2020.A line graph of July, September, and October MBE national mean scaled scores, 2016-2020. 2016 = 140.3; 2017 = 141.7; 2018 = 139.5; 2019 = 141.1; July 2020 = 146.1; September 2020 = 142.7; October 2020 = 137.2. Scores for approximately 29,000 additional examinees who sat for a remotely administered exam using NCBE materials in October 2020 will be determined by jurisdictions.

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