The national Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) mean scaled score for March 2021 was 99.0, an increase of more than three points from the March 2020 mean of 95.8 and the highest mean for any MPRE administration since March 2012. 18,078 examinees sat for the MPRE in March 2021, about 6% more compared to the 17,000 examinees who took the exam in March 2020. MPRE scores have been released to jurisdictions and examinees.

The MPRE, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, is a two-hour, 60-question multiple-choice examination administered three times per year. It is required for admission to the bars of most US jurisdictions. The purpose of the MPRE is to measure candidates’ knowledge and understanding of established standards related to the professional conduct of lawyers.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners is a not-for-profit corporation that develops the licensing tests used by most US jurisdictions for admission to the bar. NCBE serves bar admission authorities, courts, the legal education community, and candidates by providing high-quality assessment products, services, and research; character investigations; and informational and educational resources and programs. It promotes fairness, integrity, and best practices in admission to the legal profession for the benefit and protection of the public in pursuit of its vision of a competent, ethical, and diverse legal profession. For more information, visit the NCBE website at http://www.ncbex.org.

A chart showing the number of MPRE examinees 2017-2021. In March 2017-2021 there were 20,260; 20,346; 19,138; 17,000; and 18,078 examinees. In August 2017-2020 there were 17,326; 16,651; 17,066; and 12,688 examinees. In October/November 2017-2020 there were 20,798; 20,580; 22,165; and 16,607 examinees.

A chart showing MPRE mean scores 2016-2020. In March 2016-2020 the mean score was 93.5, 92.7, 94.7, 93.8, and 95.8. In August 2016-2020 the mean score was 92.0, 93.7, 93.0, 93.4, and 98.6. In November/October 2016-2020 the mean score was 93.5, 94.1, 95.5, 97.0, and 98.8. The August 2020 mean score includes the following note: Comparability to prior results may be limited due to the lower examinee count in August 2020.

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