Thursday May 17, 2007

The Bar Exam results just came out for the most recent exam
(taken in February). First, let me tell you how UDM
students did, and then I'm going to tell you why you
shouldn't care.

In terms of how UDM students did, the answer is "really
well." In fact, among all the Michigan law schools with
multiple first-time test takers, UDM came in first. That's
right. Our students beat those at University of Michigan,
MSU, Wayne State, and Cooley as well as University of
Toledo. The statewide average for first-time test takers
was 76 percent. UDM students had an 84 percent pass rate.

If you combine this first-place finish with the 93 percent pass
rate that our students achieved on last July's exam, you can see
that we are on a roll.

Having said that, the truth is that I think prospective
students put far too much stress on a school's bar pass
rate. Why do I say that? First, the pass rate really
isn't telling you all that much about how much value the
school added. Many students are good test
takers, and, assuming they put in the time and energy,
they'll do pretty well on the Bar, regardless of where
they go to law school. Others have difficulty on standardized tests, and that too will be
reflected in their Bar pass rates.

Second, even in years when our pass rate has been less
stellar than recently, students who did well in our School
still passed at really high rates. So, those students who
"got what we were teaching," did well--whether the
overall pass rate was first in the state or not.

I can't deny that I like the fact that our alumni (as well
as prospective students) are excited about our great
performance on the Bar. So I guess I should just enjoy it.
But, I think there are many better ways for a student to
decide where to go to law school. And I think there are
many better ways to assess the quality of what gets taught
at a law school. Of course, UDM does really well on those
measures, too. If you want to chat about those--or about
your own specific concerns or priorities as a potential law
student--feel free to give us a call at UDM
(313-596-0287).