Bar Exam Performance
Overview
Our graduates routinely exceed the state average for first-time test takers. The key is careful preparation for the exam, aided by KU Law's Free Bar Prep Program.
Graduates of the University of Kansas School of Law who took the bar exam for the first time in 2021 had one of the highest success rates in the country.
KU Law posted the 11th-highest first-time bar exam pass rate nationally, according to an analysis by Reuters. Nearly 96% of KU Law graduates who took a bar exam for the first time during the 2021 calendar year passed, according to data recently released by the American Bar Association.
Read a news release about KU Law's bar exam pass rates for the 2021 calendar year.
Below are links to recent ABA bar passage reports and historical data for the bar exam in Kansas and Missouri. Kansas is the primary jurisdiction for the bar exam in most years, followed closely by Missouri. Additional information about bar passage is available on the ABA Required Disclosures page.
Kansas Bar Exam Detail
| KU First Time | State Average | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar Year | Taking | Passing | KU Pass Rate | State Pass Rate | Percent Difference |
| 2023 | 42 | 38 | 90.48% | 77.16% | 13.32% |
| 2022 | 53 | 49 | 92.45% | 80.37% | 12.08% |
| 2021 | 54 | 53 | 98.15% | 77.78% | 20.37% |
| 2020 | 45 | 41 | 91.11% | 89.4% | 1.71% |
| 2019 | 32 | 28 | 87.5% | 87.12% | 0.38% |
| 2018 | 33 | 30 | 90.91% | 74.78% | 16.13% |
| 2017 | 50 | 43 | 86% | 81.51% | 4.49% |
| 2016 | 60 | 48 | 80% | 77.4% | 2.6% |
| 2015 | 22 | 20 | 90.91% | 82.01% | 8.9% |
| 2014 | 53 | 44 | 83.02% | 86.36% | -3.34% |
| 2013 | 66 | 58 | 87.88% | 89.16% | -1.28% |
| 2012 | 63 | 57 | 90.48% | 88.57% | 1.91% |
Missouri Bar Exam Detail
| KU First Time | State Average | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar Year | Taking | Passing | KU Pass Rate | State Pass Rate | Percent Difference |
| 2023 | 25 | 25 | 100% | 84.37% | 15.63% |
| 2022 | 28 | 24 | 85.71% | 79.16% | 6.55% |
| 2021 | 27 | 27 | 100% | 82.22% | 17.78% |
| 2020 | 36 | 34 | 94.44% | 85.25% | 9.19% |
| 2019 | 47 | 41 | 87.23% | 82.41% | 4.82% |
| 2018 | 54 | 46 | 85.19% | 82.1% | 3.09% |
| 2017 | 36 | 31 | 86.11% | 86.3% | -0.19% |
| 2016 | 28 | 26 | 92.86% | 83.48% | 9.38% |
| 2015 | 75 | 72 | 96% | 87.34% | 8.66% |
| 2014 | 37 | 33 | 89.19% | 87.59% | 1.6% |
| 2013 | 48 | 44 | 91.67% | 90.44% | 1.23% |
| 2012 | 42 | 40 | 95.24% | 92.11% | 3.13% |
KU Law graduates have also consistently performed well on bar exams in other states including California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania.
Ultimate Bar Exam Passage
| KU - Bar Exam Within 2 Years of Graduation | National Average | Addtl. Details | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar Year | Graduates | Taking | Passing | KU Pass Rate | Natl. Pass Rate | Percent Difference | No Info (KU) | Did Not Take Exam (KU) |
| 2021 | 98 | 97 | 97 | 100% | -- | -- | 0 | 1 |
| 2020 | 101 | 98 | 94 | 95.92% | -- | -- | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | 98 | 94 | 90 | 95.74% | -- | -- | 2 | 2 |
| 2018 | 120 | 117 | 108 | 92.31% | -- | -- | 0 | 3 |
| 2017 | 121 | 116 | 112 | 96.55% | 89.47% | 7.08% | 5 | 0 |
| 2016 | 113 | 106 | 93 | 87.74% | 88.7% | -0.96% | 4 | 3 |
| 2015 | 134 | 129 | 126 | 97.67% | 88.32% | 9.35% | 2 | 3 |