What is the LSAT?

The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) is a standardized test administered to most law school applicants in the United States and Canada. The exam has a series of questions that are designed to test the critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills of law school applicants. LSAT scores range from 120 to 180, reflecting a fit of raw scores along a data curve. For people who are interested in becoming a lawyer, the LSAT is an extremely important exam.

Standardized tests and intelligence tests became popular in the United States in the early 20th century, and the tests were administered as early as the 1920s. In 1948, the first version of the LSAT was administered, and the test began to be widely used. adopted by law schools as an important part of the admission criteria. All members of the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) require LSAT scores as part of their applications, and most major law schools belong to this council.

The LSAT generally lasts about half a day and is administered four times a year. Applicants are advised to register well in advance, as test centers can get crowded, especially in crowded areas. During the exam, students answer a series of questions in sections that are interrupted by short breaks to stretch, use the bathroom, and other necessities. Students are not allowed to talk to each other during the test or during a break, and commitments in the testing environment, such as ringing cell phones, can cause all results for that day to be discarded. As a result, the test centers are closely monitored.

There are six sections on the LSAT. The first five cover three question styles, and the sixth section is an unscored writing sample. The multiple choice section of the exam covers logical reasoning, analytical reasoning, and reading comprehension. There are always two logical reasoning sections, and the fifth section is experimental, including several test questions that can be used on future exams. The experimental section is not counted in the final score, but it is not marked either; test administrators want their experimental exams to be tested in an actual testing situation to determine how useful and valid the questions are.

The writing sample is administered last, and demonstrates that the examinee can write a coherent and well-organized essay, even after hours of arduous testing. LSAT scores and copies of writing samples are sent to the schools to which the student applies, and are supplemented by other application materials, such as personal essays and interviews. People who want to study law tend to spend a lot of energy studying for the LSAT, to ensure that they will do well on this very important exam.

Like other standardized tests, the LSAT is often criticized. Some critics are concerned that the test may be slightly biased, especially for minorities and people from disadvantaged backgrounds. There is also some concern about whether the test is really a valid measure of intelligence; Because the LSAT is such an important part of a law school application, administrators have carefully considered these criticisms.

LSAT

Once a year, LSAC offers a version of the LSAT in Spanish, which is designed for those aspiring to study at law schools in Puerto Rico. LSAC reports LSAT results in Spanish exclusively to the three ABA-accredited law schools in Puerto Rico:

• School of Law – University of Puerto Rico
• School of Law – Interamerican University of Puerto Rico
• School of Law – Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico

These three schools are the only ABA-accredited law schools in which Spanish is the primary language of instruction.

By 2023, LSAC is finalizing preparations to offer the LSAT in Spanish remotely and digitally supervised in February 2023.

In the coming weeks we will be updating all the information related to the LSAT in Spanish for 2023 on this page.

LSAT Results in Spanish and Admission to Law School

How is the LSAT corrected?

The Spanish LSAT is not exactly the same as the English LSAT, so it cannot be measured by the same 120-180 metric. However, the Spanish LSAT results are based on the same standardized metric, function similarly, and their results can be interpreted in the same way as the English LSAT.

LSAT results in Spanish are reported on a scale of 320-380. This scale has the same number of points as the LSAT in English (120-280), but the ratio of the results is not a strict one to one. For example, while a Spanish LSAT score of 335 can be viewed as roughly similar to an English LSAT score of 135, a Spanish LSAT score of 335 does not translate directly to a 135 English score. the LSAT in English, nor does it guarantee that the same student would achieve a score of 135 on the LSAT in English. Any comparison should be made with great care and with the understanding that they are only approximations.