Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge? Forum

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Salvelinus

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Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by Salvelinus » Sun Mar 28, 2021 1:46 pm

Folks who have taken at even one Government, Political Science, undergrad Law, Philosophy or Social Sciences class, or read a few books on these: doesn't at bother you that this type of content knowledge is barely tested by (on) the LSAT ?

https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/
https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documen ... ndards.pdf

nixy

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Re: Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by nixy » Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:09 pm

No.

What does that have to do with educational standards for kindergarden through high school?

NoLongerALurker

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Re: Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by NoLongerALurker » Sun Mar 28, 2021 3:57 pm

The last thing law schools need is more government/poli sci majors who think they’re hot shit because they also at one point in their sophomore political theory class read an excerpt of Aristotle once.

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cavalier1138

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Re: Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by cavalier1138 » Sun Mar 28, 2021 7:42 pm

How would knowing those subjects help, for example, a criminal defense attorney? Or corporate in-house counsel?

LookingGood

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Re: Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by LookingGood » Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:56 am

No, it doesn't bother me at all. I'd prefer candidates to be evaluated based on aptitude, not knowledge. Seems to me keeping the test aptitude-based levels the playing field in that regard and provides a more accurate basis for comparison.

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apple22

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Re: Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by apple22 » Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:28 pm

I mean, I majored in philosophy and I think I had a leg up on other test takers because I had taken formal logic classes.

Also, law schools like having a variety of different majors and if there was content knowledge STEM folks might be less apt to take the test, when they are actually in demand for patent/IP stuff. So it makes sense to me not to require content-based knowledge. The LSAT is really just supposed to be testing your brain's ability to reason and make arguments.

TTTTorbust

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Re: Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by TTTTorbust » Tue Jun 15, 2021 11:06 am

apple22 wrote:
Fri Apr 30, 2021 2:28 pm
I mean, I majored in philosophy and I think I had a leg up on other test takers because I had taken formal logic classes.

Also, law schools like having a variety of different majors and if there was content knowledge STEM folks might be less apt to take the test, when they are actually in demand for patent/IP stuff. So it makes sense to me not to require content-based knowledge. The LSAT is really just supposed to be testing your brain's ability to reason and make arguments.
CS Major here, Discrete Mathematics is generally required in any CS program and covers all the formal logic necessary for the LSAT (Truth tables/xor are especially helpful). The reality is that various majors should have prior exposure to various areas of the test, but nothing (as the test currently stands) disadvantages any particular major. That is precisely how it should stay.

phantombandit

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Re: Who else thinks the LSAT should include some content area knowledge?

Post by phantombandit » Sat Aug 27, 2022 9:07 pm

Law schools are interested in your capacity to learn, not what you know.

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