Final Practice MBE Score VS Actual MBE Scaled Score (if released) Forum

[Ken Kesey]

Practice MBE: 165
Actual scaled MBE: 175

Yes lower scores get larger bumps, that's how scaling works on normal distributions.

Well done!

Hey, do you mind sharing your preparation strategies with us? I am retaking the GA bar this February and I'd appreciate any tips and advice on doing well on the MBE.

So i'll lay out what I did during my study process first, my philosophy, and my personal attributes.

I used BarBri (absolutely not necessary, imo if I were paying and not my firm I'd choose a much cheaper option), I did generally all the online suggested problems sets of 20-25 ish until about set 5. None of the additional problems in the book.

BarBri progressively used more obscure questions at set 5 and on. Obscure enough that I would probably get 50% right when I usually would get 70-80% right. In my opinion it's worthless to try to master more obscure MBE questions because those ideas just aren't tested enough. Instead of continuing to do problems I just review the condensed outlines, for BarBri that was the Conviser Mini Review (CMR). The CMRs are generally short enough that if you go over them enough you can have pretty good mastery over them. The full blown outlines were too long and I only opened them up if I didn't understand what the CMR was saying. A few subjects were too long though, I think contracts and real property CMR outlines were still too long to master 100%. It's just like a good law school outline, imo it should absolutely be fewer than 50 ish pages.

The MBE is an ridiculously confusing and tricky test. So I think your state of mind is essential. It's really hard to not feel like an idiot and like you failed because there will be ridiculous questions. I honestly was probably 100% sure about 30-40% and the rest did a second reading then just went with my gut. You just have to rely on your intuition and move on. Even with my high score I was generally guessing/relying on my gut for over half the questions. That means you can't let your emotions or uneasiness affect you at all. Honestly when I was taking it, I was just calm and had DGAF attitude.

A couple of personal advantages I have that helped me. I did really well 1L year and mastered those mostly MBE subjects in advance. I have a really great memory so I remembered a lot from 1L and can retain information really well. I can also read very fast. Much faster than a typical law student. I left the MBE at least an hour early., purely because I read so fast and just didn't second guess my answers.

My summary: (1) master the 80% leave the 20% and (2) control your emotions/state of mind. If you have problems with (2) during exams look into meditation type things, completely underrated imo.

[leib10]

July 2017 Texas

Barbri Midterm: 109
Barbri Final: 59
MBE: 149.3

[TXBar2017]

July 2017 Texas

Themis Mid Term: 151

Themis Final: 153

MBE Scaled: 169.6

[quirky]

July 2017 Texas

Themis simulated: 152
Actual: 163.6

[DCESQ]

Just passed in MD today.

Barbri SMBE: 126/200
Refresher: 69/100
Actual scaled MBE 159.

I completed 80-85% of the Barbri course, about 1200 Adaptibar questions and used the critical pass flashcards. Toward the end I stopped doing the Barbri program and really ramped up my Adaptibar questions (50-100 per day) and I heavily practiced the MD essays as they account for 2/3 of the overall score.

[lfonten2]

Passed in Maryland.

Barbri Simulated MBE: 150
Actual MBE: 173
Bar Prep: Barbri

[boogerrr]

Just passed Texas!

Themis simulated: 114
Actual MBE: 146.3

[nmic]

Passed DC!
Barbri simulated MBE: 110
Actual MBE scaled: 154.7
(written scaled: 153.4)
Total scaled 308

[jacketyellow]

Passed DC.

Barbri Simulated MBE: 93
Actual MBE scaled: 126
Written Scaled: 140
Total: 266 (the exact score needed to pass)

I was concerned about my simulated score all summer. I went up 33 points, but that still wasn't enough to pass. Thankfully, my writing score put me over the top (well, not really since I got the exact score needed to pass).

[pausetildone]

jacketyellow, you put the score of MBE and Essay score the other way around. DC needs 133 MBE to pass. You probably got MBE 140 and Essay 126.

[jacketyellow]

jacketyellow, you put the score of MBE and Essay score the other way around. DC needs 133 MBE to pass. You probably got MBE 140 and Essay 126.

Not true. There is no minimum score you must get/exceed on either section. However, if you fail the exam, but get a 133 on either section, you only have to take again the section on which you did not get a 133. The rules state:

An applicant who takes both the written portion (MEE and MPT) and the multiple-choice portion (MBE) of the bar examination must
achieve a combined scaled score of 266 to pass the examination.

You can score a 266, potentially, with a 200 score on the essays and 66 on the MBE or vice versa. It doesn't matter. When they combine the scores, they should equal 266.

[lawDC2017]

Barbri Simulated MBE: 143
Barbri Refresher: 62
Actual Scaled MBE: 168

[redsox550]

I got 140 on simulated mbe Themis and around there on practice tests and somehow pulled off a 168 on actual test. Morning session felt EASY, afternoon session felt like I was guessing between options WAY too much

[oxie]

Passed in DC!

Barbri Simulated MBE: 164/200
Barbri Refresher: 80/100
Actual MBE: 185.8

[pausetildone]

jacketyellow, my bad. I have wrong information. Thank you for correction.

[scorneli]

Passed in Indiana.

Barbri Simulated MBE: 134
Actual MBE: 154
Bar Prep: Barbri

[nsv]

Is the raw score being posted out of 200 or 175?

[Farmer Bob]

Been lurking here regularly, thanks to all for posting score comps- it helped keep my spirits up. Passed California. My midterm with Kaplan was 164, final was 165. I'm told California doesn't release scores for passers- anyone know how I can determine scaled mbe?

[jphiggo]

Been lurking here regularly, thanks to all for posting score comps- it helped keep my spirits up. Passed California. My midterm with Kaplan was 164, final was 165. I'm told California doesn't release scores for passers- anyone know how I can determine scaled mbe?

You answered your own question, California doesn't release scores for passers. With that said, the best you can obtain is an MBE Score Advisory from NCBE.

"MBE Score Advisory
If you tested in a jurisdiction that doesn't release MBE scores to examinees and would like to learn if your score is sufficient for admission solely on the basis of an MBE score in the three jurisdictions that have this method of admission (District of Columbia, Minnesota, and North Dakota), request an MBE Score Advisory. First, determine if your testing jurisdiction authorizes NCBE to perform score advisories.

An MBE Score Advisory will not state the examinee's scaled MBE score but will advise if the examinee's score meets or exceeds the scores required by the District of Columbia (133 score required), Minnesota (145 score required), and North Dakota"

http://www.ncbex.org/ncbe-exam-score-se ... -services/

[Jay.T17]

Passed the CA Bar

Barbri Simulated=154/200
Barbri Refresher = 75/100

My scaled MBE score meets or exceeds 150.

Unfortunately, I don’t know my exact score. I did all the barbri MBEs and another 1400 on Adaptibar.

[FinallyPassedTheBar]

Been lurking here regularly, thanks to all for posting score comps- it helped keep my spirits up. Passed California. My midterm with Kaplan was 164, final was 165. I'm told California doesn't release scores for passers- anyone know how I can determine scaled mbe?

You answered your own question, California doesn't release scores for passers. With that said, the best you can obtain is an MBE Score Advisory from NCBE.

"MBE Score Advisory
If you tested in a jurisdiction that doesn't release MBE scores to examinees and would like to learn if your score is sufficient for admission solely on the basis of an MBE score in the three jurisdictions that have this method of admission (District of Columbia, Minnesota, and North Dakota), request an MBE Score Advisory. First, determine if your testing jurisdiction authorizes NCBE to perform score advisories.

An MBE Score Advisory will not state the examinee's scaled MBE score but will advise if the examinee's score meets or exceeds the scores required by the District of Columbia (133 score required), Minnesota (145 score required), and North Dakota"

http://www.ncbex.org/ncbe-exam-score-se ... -services/

Thanks, since I am curious, I ordered a score advisory this morning. I chose North Dakota since they have the higher score requirement (150)

[Findedeux]

If anyone who originally contributed to this thread still reads this, I was wondering what the themis takers were referring to when they say their "final" test.

I just finished themis and we had two 50 question exams, a 200 simulated exam and a final 100 question.

Just curious if the order was the same?

[Findedeux]

I also don't see how these scores in the spreadsheet can be representative.

Essentially, if they were representative you would have to conclude that not only is the bar exam easier than all prep exams but much easier as the average gain is about 20 points.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... d=11150326

[kyle010723]

I also don't see how these scores in the spreadsheet can be representative.

Essentially, if they were representative you would have to conclude that not only is the bar exam easier than all prep exams but much easier as the average gain is about 20 points.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... d=11150326

I’m no expert, but what I always tell me friends about the Bar is to add about 20 to 30 points to your raw scores from Barbri practice exams. That seems to be a fairly accurate albeit conservative estimate.

I personally got a 124/200 on Barbri midterm and 168 on the MBE.

[myspiritanimal]

I also don't see how these scores in the spreadsheet can be representative.

Essentially, if they were representative you would have to conclude that not only is the bar exam easier than all prep exams but much easier as the average gain is about 20 points.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... d=11150326

I’m no expert, but what I always tell me friends about the Bar is to add about 20 to 30 points to your raw scores from Barbri practice exams. That seems to be a fairly accurate albeit conservative estimate.

I personally got a 124/200 on Barbri midterm and 168 on the MBE.

I hear this a lot, but one half of the actual MBE felt a LOT harder than the Barbri midterm and refresher, so I'm not sure how to think about that..