Test Prep Professionals

Wall Street Journal by Sara Randazzo

University of Arizona College of Law’s recent decision to ease up on the LSAT and let prospective students apply with a GRE score, discussed in today’s Wall Street Journal, has caused some consternation in the tightly regimented world of law school admissions.

But to those who wonder, can they do that? Arizona Law Dean Marc Miller has a simple answer: Yes, and other schools can too.

The American Bar Association’s accrediting standards require schools to consider scores from a “valid and reliable admission test” for all applicants. The rules specify that if that test isn’t the LSAT, the school must demonstrate that it still meets the “valid and reliable” standard.

The traditional law school test emphasizes logical reasoning and reading comprehension, while the GRE also tests math and vocabulary. “The GRE is regarded as the easier test,” said Jeff Thomas, executive director of prelaw programs at Kaplan Test Prep.

Mr. Miller said the school’s proof that the GRE is just as good a predictor of first-year law school grades as the LSAT is a study Arizona Law put together in conjunction with Educational Testing Service, the maker of the GRE. With that study in hand, he said, the school believes it can start taking GRE scores without waiting for a formal blessing from the ABA. Incoming students can still apply using an LSAT score.

“We found where the tunnel was that anyone could have driven through if they’d bought enough gas and a big enough truck,” Mr. Miller said.

The ABA has a slightly different opinion on the matter. Barry Currier, the ABA’s managing director of accreditation and legal education, said they aren’t going to take Arizona Law’s report on its face and plan to conduct an independent analysis of the GRE’s worthiness. “We’re determining what our course of action will be,” he said.

Mr. Currier also cautions that the study Arizona Law produced is only applicable to that school, and not an open invitation for schools to begin loosening reliance on the LSAT.

The GRE’s maker, ETS, is already working with two other schools on validation studies, and they say they plan to embark on a nationwide study that, if the ABA agrees with the results, could open the door for widespread adoption.

Mr. Currier said that if such a nationwide study were to exist, law schools could point to it as evidence that the GRE is a valid test and start accepting GRE scores. Nothing would need to officially change in the ABA accreditation standards, he said.

So, law school admissions staff, there you have it. The LSAT’s reign may be over, or not, depending on how eager you are to push it out the door.