There are three ways in which your LSAT score is presented:
1. Raw LSAT Score
2. LSAT Scaled Score
3. LSAT Percentile
Raw LSAT Score
Your Raw LSAT Score is simply the number of questions that you got right. Each LSAT will typically have 100 to 103 questions, and your Raw LSAT Score is a number between 0 and that maximum of 100 to 103. In computing your Raw LSAT Score there is no deduction for incorrect answers and all questions are weighted equally. This means that the hard questions are worth just as much as the easy questions. LSAT Tip: If you are running out of time skip some of the harder questions and use the time you save to get more of the easy questions right and improve your score.
LSAT Scaled Score
Raw LSAT Scores are converted into the LSAT Scaled Scores, which ranges from 120 to 180. So if you scored 0 on the Raw LSAT Score (0 questions right) you would likely have an LSAT Scaled Score of 120 and if your Raw LSAT Score was 101 you would likely have an LSAT Scaled Score of 180. The conversion process is done by using a statistical procedure called equating. Equating adjusts for the differences in difficulty between different LSAT tests. For example, the October 1997 LSAT was harder than the June 2007 LSAT and so if you wrote both tests and your Raw LSAT Score on both was 55 your LSAT Scaled Score for the June 2007 LSAT would be 149 and for the October 1997 LSAT it would be 150. Generally the same Raw LSAT Score will produce the same or very similar LSAT Scaled Scores. The Scaled Scores below converted from the raw score are approximate, for your exact scaled score refer to the scoring page of the LSAT you are scoring.
LSAT Percentile
A percentile rank is also reported for each LSAT score, reflecting the percentage of candidates scoring below your reported test score. While the LSAT Scaled Score is based on the specific LSAT test that you wrote, the LSAT Percentile for a score is based on the distribution of scores for the three-year period prior to the year in which the score is reported. Your percentile rank tells you the percentage of scaled scores in the last three years that your score beats. For example if your LSAT Scaled Score is 157 you will have a percentile rank of approximately 75% meaning that your Scaled Score of 157 is better than 75% of the LSAT Scaled Scores for the last three years. The Percentile Scores below are the scores for the period from June, 2006 to February 2009. They include the statistical analysis of 429,816 LSAT scores over this 3 year period. Actual percentile rankings on your LSAT may vary slightly.
LSAT Score / Percentile Conversion Chart
For example, using the table below if you scored 65 questions right out of 101 questions on the LSAT your LSAT Raw Score is 65, your LSAT Scaled Score is 157, and your Percentile Rank is 70.9%ile. So while you got 65% of the questions right you are in the 70.9th percentile meaning your LSAT Scaled Score was better than 70.9% of the people who wrote the LSAT in the last three years. Note that the table below is a guide and minor variances will occur with each writing of the LSAT. Table updated as of March 4, 2011.
For the most accurate results convert your Raw Score to a Scaled Score on the conversion chart associated with your specific LSAT exam. Then convert the Scaled Score to Percentile here.
Greg Smith
Greg took the LSAT in 2002 receiving a high score that got him into the law school of his choice. This led him to teach LSAT classes while attending law school at the University of British Columbia and continued teaching while practicing law with top international law firms Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and later Blake Cassels & Graydon LLP, in the area of Securities and Capital Markets. Read more
