Jim Rosica
About six out of 10 first-time test takers passed the February sitting of the Florida Bar Exam, according to a Monday press release.
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners, which develops and administers the twice-yearly exam, reported that 485 of 830 first-timers passed, or 58.4 percent.
Florida International University College of Law graduates had the best passage rate, with 22 of 26 takers passing, or 84.6 percent, followed by Nova Southeastern University College of Law, with 24 of 32 passing, or 75 percent.
At the bottom was Florida Coastal School of Law, with 16 passing out of 49 takers, or 32.7 percent.
Altogether, 1,967 people sat for the exam, including those who already have taken the exam one or more times. Of those, 546 passed and are eligible to be sworn in as members of The Florida Bar.
The test was given on Feb. 23-24 in Tampa. Like many state bar exams, it is given twice a year, in late February and late July. Statistics for previous exams are here.
More law students take the exam in the summer, immediately after graduation and bar review. For July 2015, for example, the first-time passage rate was 68.9 percent, with 1,851 out of 2,687 passing. A smaller number, including those who fail the summer exam, take the bar in the winter.
Here is the full February 2016 listing from the Board of Bar Examiners:
Florida International University College of Law, 22 of 26, 84.6 percent
Nova Southeastern University College of Law, 24 of 32, 75 percent
Takers who are already admitted to practice law in another jurisdiction, 209 of 286, 73.1 percent
Florida State University College of Law, 15 of 21, 71.4 percent
Florida A&M University College of Law, 13 of 23, 56.5 percent
University of Florida College of Law, 9 of 16, 56.3 percent
Stetson University College of Law, 24 of 45, 53.3 percent
University of Miami School of Law, 17 of 32, 53.1 percent
Ave Maria School of Law, 9 of 17, 52.9 percent
Takers from law schools outside Florida, 93 of 193, 48.2 percent
St. Thomas University College of Law, 11 of 26, 42.3 percent
Barry University School of Law, 23 of 64, 35.9 percent
Florida Coastal School of Law, 16 of 49, 32.7 percent
