Starting August 2027, the LSAT Will Look a Little Different but Still Test the Same Skills in the Same Ways
We are announcing today a change in the format of the LSAT that will not take effect for nine months, in order to give test takers plenty of time to get acclimated to the new format.
The change we are announcing today relates to the format of the test, not the substance.
Like most other organizations in the assessment sector, LSAC uses unscored questions during standardized tests to evaluate new questions to ensure they are working as intended and are free from ambiguity or potential bias. Currently, all unscored questions are contained in a separate section. Starting with the August 2027 LSAT, the unscored questions will be integrated into each of the three scored sections, making them part of the overall section experience, rather than a standalone section. This approach, known in the assessment field as “embedded pretesting,” is used in the SAT, ACT, bar exam, and many other tests to evaluate new questions, and is considered a best practice. LSAC conducted extensive due diligence before deciding that embedded pretesting is appropriate for the LSAT.
This approach to unscored questions will bring uniformity to the section types and section order that test takers will see on test day. Every test taker will start with the Reading Comprehension section followed by two Logical Reasoning sections.
- In the Reading Comprehension section, test takers will have 52 minutes for six passages with a total of 40 questions. Four passages with 27 questions will be scored and two passages with 13 questions will be unscored.
- For each Logical Reasoning section, test takers will have 45 minutes for 32 questions. In each Logical Reasoning section, 25 questions will be scored and seven questions will be unscored.
- There will be a 10-minute break after the first section and another 10-minute break after the second section.
It is important to note that we are not making any changes in the types of questions candidates will see on the LSAT. Just like the current version of the test, scores will continue to be based on one section of 27 scored Reading Comprehension questions and two sections of 25 scored Logical Reasoning questions each, and the questions will look the same. LSAT scores of 120-180 will continue to represent the same skill levels, and scores will continue to be comparable across testing cycles.
As with the current test format, test takers should do their best on every question, treating each question as a scored question. Test takers will continue to have the same amount of time per question under the new embedded pretesting format as they do currently. While the positions of scored and unscored questions within a test section will be different for different test takers, the unscored questions in each section will be balanced across all test takers in terms of the types of questions and the difficulty of questions to maintain fairness.
Again, this change will not take effect until August 2027, but we are announcing it today to give everyone time to prepare. For anyone planning to take the LSAT between now and June 2027, there will be no change to the existing format. The experience for test takers in August 2027 or later will differ in format, but the skills tested and the types of questions and the number of questions that contribute to your score will be the same as they are now.
We will provide LawHub test preparation materials aligned with the new embedded pretesting format in February 2027, so that people planning to take the August 2027 LSAT or later tests will have time to get comfortable with the new format of three sections, as opposed to four. We will continue to provide test preparation materials in the existing four-section format through the completion of the June 2027 test.
We’ve posted a summary of the changes and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on LSAC.org. We will continue to provide additional information to ensure a smooth transition to this new format.
