Many law schools may soon alter their policies for reviewing LSAT scores, according to a recent study conducted by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.
The survey found that many law schools reported that they would begin to review an applicant's highest LSAT score, rather than his or her average scores-a change that could encourage students to take the test multiple times.
But several law school admissions officers, as well as a representative from the Law School Admissions Council-which administers the LSAT-have recently questioned the veracity of Kaplan's results.
"That's not the info that we're getting," said Wendy Margolis, a spokesperson for the LSAC, in regards to Kaplan's study.
Bill Hoye, associate dean for admissions and financial aid at Duke School of Law, said he would not be surprised if prospective law students would succumb to the pressure of taking the LSAT a number of times.
"I just hope they don't," he said.
In June, the American Bar Association announced that it would no longer require law schools to submit students' average LSAT scores for data purposes, and that the highest score would instead be used. In response, Kaplan surveyed 170 law schools' admissions officers and found that a majority of respondents were already shifting their policies.
Prior to the ABA's announcement, 87 percent of law schools reported that they used applicants' average LSAT scores in the admissions process, and after the ABA policy change, 74 percent reported to Kaplan that they had already begun to review the highest test score instead.
"We took this survey just a couple months after the decision was made, and these were the results that we found," said Russell Schaffer, senior communications manager at Kaplan.
Despite the results, a number of top law schools-including those at Harvard University, Yale University and Columbia University-have stated that they have no intention of changing their previous policies.
Hoye said Duke would continue its policy of reviewing all the LSAT scores of its applicants.
Hoye added that throughout fall recruitment events with colleagues from peer institutions-including the law schools of Stanford University, New York University and Cornell University-admissions officers generally disagreed with Kaplan's assessment that law school admissions would shift to focusing on an applicant's highest test score.
"We had this question come up over and over again, and we each had the very same answer," he said.
Hoye said the aggregate LSAT score remains the most accurate statistical figure in predicting which applicants will perform the best in the first year of law school.
He added that he looks for an explanation-such as illness on test day or other extenuating circumstances-in the instance an applicant takes the LSAT multiple times.
"I'd like to see that there's a reason [for an applicant to retake the test]," he said.
Hoye also emphasized that the LSAT remains only one piece in the admissions process.
Despite some criticism of the study, Schaffer said Kaplan stood by the results.
"It wasn't as if we handpicked 170 law schools. We actually surveyed all the law schools that were accredited, and these were the answers that we got," he said.
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