How LSAT Percentile Scores Are Calculated

The LSAT percentile scores make a huge difference between getting into the school that is you first choice and your last choice. The law school of your choosing will use this score to see how well you measure up to other students being considered for admission. All schools of course want the best in their pool of applicants.
LSAT is the law school admission test. The main goal is to see if you are suited to law school. A law student is expected to be able to fully comprehend what they read, have insight into it, and be able to draw inferences from the information read. They need to be able to organize information, analyze it, then have the ability to use it to reason and debate.

It is a standardized test that is used to determine a students reading comprehension and their logical and analytical reasoning. There are six sections in total. Each section has a 35 minute completion time. All but two sections will contribute to the overall score. There is a variable section not entered into the scoring because it has questions that are actually pretest questions for future tests.

There is a writing portion of the test which does not contribute to the score either. An essay must be written about a given topic within the 35 minute time frame. Although it is not part of the score, it is very important because it is sent to every law school you have applied to.

The other five sections are all multiple choice. Besides the variable section there is reading comprehension and analytical reasoning. Two sections are dedicated to logical reasoning. From these you will receive a raw score that is then given a scaled score. This score is determined by the difficulty of the test you took. The score will be between 120 and 180. The scaled score is then put in a score band. The score band is your scaled score plus or minus three points. The score band states what your score would be 68% of the time. So if you retake it this is what you may expect either three points more or less.

An average scaled score is usually between 150 and 167. If your score is above 165 you have placed yourself above the average for most schools. The scaled score is then ranked by percentile. The percentile is determined by your score in comparison with everyone else who took the test for the past three years. A student is not only competing against this years students but student of the past three years as well. If you received a scaled score of 160 in the 65th percentile this means you scored better than 65 percent of the people who took the test. The other 65% scored less than you.

Approximately six weeks after taking the test you will receive your results. Each law school has a different acceptable scaled scores and LSAT percentile scores. You will need to look into your school to find out how you must do to gain acceptance. If you are not happy with your results you can retake it up to three times. Keep in mind that a school can ask for your highest LSAT score and/or your average score. Once again you must inform yourself as to what your intended school looks for.