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Results - February 2023 Exam

Results Pending

We anticipate the February 2023 Bar Exam results will be posted on April 14, 2023.

Please do not telephone this office to inquire about the results.

If you have changed your address, please complete a Change of Address form.

Admission Ceremony: More information will be posted when available.

EXAM RESULTS

Name Changes

A certified copy of a marriage license or a certified copy of a name change order must accompany all requests for a name change. Click here to download the Name Change Form. Please note: No name changes will be made 2 weeks before the exam or 2 weeks before results are released.

Address Changes

Exam results will be mailed to the address indicated on your exam Place Card. Subsequent changes in address must be provided to the Office of the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners in writing as soon as possible. A Change of Address Form is available on our website at barexam.virginia.gov. No address changes can be guaranteed to be made 2 weeks before the exam or 2 weeks before results are released. If you wait to change your address until immediately prior to the release of results, we may not be able to change your address, which will cause a delay in the receipt of your results and, should you pass, the very important registration materials required for attending the swearing in ceremony. Under these circumstances, make sure you have a forwarding order on file with the post office because we will not release results to anyone over the phone and we cannot resend registration materials due to the high postage cost. We will not accept address changes over the telephone.

Notification of Results

After all exams have been graded and results tabulated, each applicant will be notified in writing whether or not they passed the exam. Applicants, their families, friends and employers should not call the Office of the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners inquiring about when results will be released. No information will be given out over the telephone, and calls of this nature only impede the processing of the scores.

Posting of Results

Names of the passing applicants will be posted on the Board's website at barexam.virginia.gov/bar/barresults.html. The list will be in alphabetical order. No results will be given over the telephone.

Procedures for Determining Scores for Option 1 Applicants

The February 2023 Virginia Bar Exam will consist of 9 essay questions and 10 multiple choice questions on Tuesday, and the MBE on Wednesday.

Essay Score: Each essay answer is graded on a 10-point scale, and each of the 10 multiple choice questions is graded right or wrong. Each correct multiple choice question is worth 1 point. Thus, the maximum essay "raw" score is 100 points: (10 points x 9 essay questions) + (1 point x 10 multiple choice questions).

MBE Score: The MBE consists of 200 multiple choice questions. Because questions at one administration of the MBE might be more or less difficult than those at another administration, the MBE score is scaled for each administration of the exam.

The Virginia Essay raw scores are converted to the same scale of measurement as that used to report the MBE scaled scores. As a result, the average essay scaled score in Virginia will be equal to the average MBE scaled score. This method is designed to permit the passing standard to remain as constant as possible from one exam to the next, so that an applicant is neither rewarded nor penalized for having taken one exam or another.

Minimum Passing Score: The score for Option 1 applicants will be based on both the Virginia Essay and the MBE. Both parts of the exam will be weighted and combined to determine if the applicant has achieved a minimum overall passing score of 140. Such weighting shall be made by combining 60% of the Virginia Essay exam scaled score and 40% of the MBE scaled score. Accordingly,

Total Scaled Score/CWT = (.60 x VA Essay scaled score) + (.40 x a MBE scaled score)

Procedures for Determining Scores for Option 2A & 2B Applicants

The February 2023 Virginia Bar Exam will consist of 9 essay questions and 10 multiple choice questions on Tuesday.

Essay Score: Each essay answer is graded on a 10-point scale, and each of the 10 multiple choice questions is graded right or wrong. Each correct multiple choice question is worth 1 point. Thus, the maximum essay "raw" score is 100 points: (10 points x 9 essay questions) + (1 point x 10 multiple choice questions).

The Virginia Essay raw scores are converted to the same scale of measurement as that used to report the MBE scaled scores. As a result, the average essay scaled score in Virginia will be equal to the average MBE scaled score. This method is designed to permit the passing standard to remain as constant as possible from one exam to the next, so that an applicant is neither rewarded nor penalized for having taken one exam or another.

Minimum Passing Score: The score for Option 2A & 2B applicants will be based on the Virginia Essay and the previous MBE score the applicant elected to use/transfer. Both parts of the exam will be weighted and combined to determine if the applicant has achieved a minimum overall passing score of 140. Such weighting shall be made by combining 60% of the Virginia Essay exam scaled score and 40% of the MBE scaled score. Accordingly,

Total Scaled Score/CWT = (.60 x VA Essay scaled score) + (.40 x a previous MBE scaled score)

Procedures for Determining Scores for Option 3 Applicants

The February 2023 Virginia Bar Exam will consist of 9 essay questions and 10 multiple choice questions on Tuesday.

Essay Score: Each essay answer is graded on a 10-point scale, and each of the 10 multiple choice questions is graded right or wrong. Each correct multiple choice question is worth 1 point. Thus, the maximum essay "raw" score is 100 points: (10 points x 9 essay questions) + (1 point x 10 multiple choice questions).

Minimum Passing Score: The passing score for Option 3 will be based solely on the raw points awarded on the Virginia Essay exam. A minimum score of 64 raw points, out of a possible 100 raw points, is a passing score.

Regrade Policy For All Options

Prior to the release of the results, the Board meets to regrade the Virginia Essay papers of those applicants whose initial score is near but below the minimum passing score. The Board may determine that the overall quality of an applicant's answers may adequately demonstrate minimum competence, resulting in that applicant achieving the minimum passing score. After the regrading, all scores are final and not appealable. All grading is done anonymously.