Unemployment's effect on the curve? Forum

[JesusChrist]

You know how in bad economic times they say a lot of people go back to school in order to wait out the economy. How do you think this will affect the curve on the LSAT? Good or bad?

I figure, cruelly, that the smart ones will have found a way not to get fired. So this can only be good for us right?

Thoughts?

[gdane]

You know how in bad economic times they say a lot of people go back to school in order to wait out the economy. How do you think this will affect the curve on the LSAT? Good or bad?

I figure, cruelly, that the smart ones will have found a way not to get fired. So this can only be good for us right?

Thoughts?

Your assumption is very stupid. Illogical and very stupid. First off, many of the current unemployed people werent "fired", they were laid off. Big difference. Being fired usually means that you werent meeting expectations or your behavior wasnt a fit for the company. Essentially, being fired has a negative connotation to it. Being laid off usually means that one loses their job through no fault of their own. This has been the case for many people during the recession.

Thousands of attorneys at the biggest firms were laid off during the recession. Many that went to "Top 14" schools. Do you think that these people were not smart? Losing your job has nothing to do with being smart or dumb. Neither is a necessary or a sufficient condition to retain employment.

[St.Remy]

The curve of the LSAT is determined long before the test is given, and is not effected by the intelligence of the test-takers. Looking at the recent curves you can see that they are largely the same as they were before the economic downturn. Because the LSAT is not analogous to an intelligence test but rather tests some specific skills the distribution of scores would likely stay largely consistent even if most of the people who recently became unemployed were not as "smart" as the national average.

I'm pretty sure that the recent rise in unemployment is not due solely to people with poor reading comprehension and logical reasoning skills being fired. If it were perhaps the distribution of scores for the October LSAT would be skewed, but even in that unlikely event the curve would probably be unaffected.

[Sandro]

1. Are you sure the curve is determined before the test? Seems to me like if everyone took the test and missed a ton of questions, this would push the curve higher... as in you could miss more questions and still get 170. Am I wrong?

2. While unemployment levels may not have anything to do with the smartness of people taking the test, you could argue along the lines that more people might be taking the test without preparing for it which to me seems like it would create a higher curve, doubtful to push it up by anything substantial though... but that would depend on the rates of the unemployed added to the LSAT pool having a lower study rate than the average test taker...

[NYCLSATTutor]

Yes the curve is determined prior to the test being given.

[sophia.olive]

JesusChrist!

[2014]

They give 1 experimental section on every test. They put together 4 experimental sections from previous tests that were successful by their standards and therein lies a future test. The curve is set based on trends and scores from the experimental sections that have now become the real sections.