LSAT Goes All-Digital With September Administration

Fall has been a historically busy season to take the LSAT and this fall is no different with more than 21,000 individuals registered for last Saturday’s September test administration. What made this particular administration unique was that it marked the first all-digital LSAT. Additionally, severe weather conditions, including a tropical storm that dumped up to 40 inches of rain in Texas and torrential rainstorms in the upper Midwest, added a level of complexity to test day and forced a few test center closures in the Houston area and in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 

Our thoughts are with the people in those communities, and we are working quickly to reschedule the LSAT for all affected test takers. 

With respect to the new test format, we are pleased by the overall response we’re getting. The digital testing experience went smoothly at the vast majority of test centers. Many test takers commented on how well the test day experience went and appreciated the new features of the Digital LSAT, including tools to help them prepare. 

“I really liked the tablet format a lot better (than paper-and-pencil),” said Conor Willadson, a student from Wyoming who now lives in Arizona. “I could see what questions I hadn’t answered and just go right to those questions. I also loved that I could see my remaining time.” Willadson used Digital LSAT familiarization tools available on LSAC.org and free LSAT prep available from the Khan Academy. 

Caleb Yeager took the test in Pennsylvania and said, “The onboarding process I thought was quicker with electronic as opposed to paper.” When asked what he thought about being able to take the LSAT on a tablet, he said, “To me, it was no problem at all because I’m used to doing work on screens. So, if anything, it was more comfortable.”

Our test administration staff invested a lot of time and energy to improve the check-in process and make it more efficient for September, as some test centers had experienced delays in July. While the test day went smoothly at the vast majority of test centers, we did have some unfortunate situations that prevented the test from happening in a few locations. 

We had an error in our shipping process that prevented testing at a few test centers. We apologize for this mistake. While we know that errors can occur when we administer more than 21,000 individual tests at more than 550 locations on a single day, we are never satisfied with anything less than 100% execution given how hard test takers have prepared and how much is at stake. We are reviewing our internal and external shipping processes to ensure this does not happen in the future. 

Finally, a handful of test centers experienced technical or test administration issues which affected test takers’ ability to complete the test. We are taking steps to ensure these issues are resolved going forward.

Anytime there is a disruption at a test center, LSAC’s goal is to provide all affected test takers with the opportunity to take a make-up test within two weeks, and to report their scores within the original timeline so we minimize the impact on the timing of their applications. We have communicated directly with all affected test takers and will do everything possible to address their needs.

Having completed the first all-digital test day, we will continue to gather feedback from test takers and test center staff to improve the digital experience for future LSAT administrations. Developing and launching the Digital LSAT has been a huge effort, and I want to thank everyone who has helped make it possible — from the teams at LSAC, to our dedicated test center staff, to our member law schools who have been with us every step of the way, to the prelaw advisors who have helped guide candidates in their law school journeys, to the test prep organizations that have helped ready students for the new format. We also greatly appreciated the universities and law schools that hosted the September LSAT on their campuses and encourage others to consider joining us as a site for administering future tests.

Finally, thank you to the more than 21,000 individuals who registered for the September LSAT. We are working hard to deliver your scores. We are here for you and thank you for your commitment to law and justice!