California Bar Pass Rate Drops From 2021, Mirroring U.S. Trend

California reported a 33.9% bar exam pass rate for the February test, tracking with a dozen other states that saw declines from February 2021, the California Bar said Friday.

The first in-person exam since the start of the pandemic saw 1,056 people pass the notoriously difficult two-day exam, out of 3,113 test takers. That’s a higher attendance than the remotely administered February 2021 exam, but still a drop from previous years when 4,000 to 5,000 typically sat for the test, the California Bar said.

The pass rate compares to the July 2021 exam when 53% passed the test in which ...