Reviewing July 2026 Bar Exam Score Reports (California, Legacy UBE, NextGen UBE)

Ever wonder where everything went downhill in your life?

I can point to the exact years and decision points where things went wrong in mine. I can never go back…

But fortunately, if you have a score report from your previous attempt(s) at the bar exam, you can figure out the truth. And once you know the truth, you can do something about it.

There’s information in score reports that reveals where things went right and where things went wrong. You can use this information to hold onto that grip over your future.

I’ll go over two score reports from California takers, two from UBE takers, and one from a NextGen UBE taker. I’ll take you through how to think about the numbers and next steps to consider.

• CA score report 1: 1335, high written, low MBE
• CA score report 2: 1330, low written, high MBE
• UBE score report 1: 256 Illinois, high written, low MBE
• UBE score report 2: 258 New York, low written, decent MBE
• NextGen score report: 600 Maryland

These reviews will be especially valuable to retakers, but anyone can take away insights about where to put their efforts. I encourage you to read the comments for every score report even if it’s not for your jurisdiction. Maybe you’ll get some ideas for your own preparation.

California Bar Exam scaling explanation

California raw-to-scaled conversion for July 2026:

Written scaled score = (Raw written score x 4.3800) – 476.7100

Therefore, 5 raw written points were worth 21.9 written scaled points for July. The written portion is half of the total score, so those 5 raw points moved the total score by 10.95. Keep this in mind for the analyses below.

California Score Report 1

Total score: 1335.3
Points needed to pass: 54.7
Raw written points needed to pass: 25

What went well

• PT got the highest grade. Very good because it counts double in the written portion.
• Three essays at 60 (within the target range of 60-65): PR, Remedies, Business Associations.
• Written scaled score of 1406.7.

A 54.7-point deficiency is 25 raw written points away. That could be:

• 5 essays with +5 points each
• 3 essays with +5 points each and PT with +5 points
• 1 essay with +5 points and PT with +10 points

What needs improvement

• MBE scaled score of 1264. With the written score of 1406 unchanged, this examinee needed about 1374 on the MBE.
• This translates to about 12 to 14 more correct answers based on a very rough estimate from an older conversion table (190-question scale, NCBE no longer publishes these tables).
• Torts and Evidence have the lowest percentile ranks. These are the first places to start.

My comments

• It’s good to know that the MBE is deficient. This is more straightforward than trying to improve essays or PT, or worse, realizing that you need to “get better at everything.”
• Give the MBE the largest share of study time, while putting PT and essays on “maintenance mode.” There’s less return on time spent on essays and PTs.
• Prioritize Torts and Evidence at first, and reassess weak subjects as you go. Evidence was also the Q5 essay at 55, so studying Evidence more deeply covers both portions.

California Score Report 2

The total score here is similar to the first score report above, but the strengths and weaknesses are flipped. Interestingly, some people find that the MBE clicks for them, while others find that the essays do.

Total score: 1330.1
Points needed to pass: 59.9
Raw written points needed to pass: 30 (27.5 if a second read were available)

What went well

• MBE scaled score of 1385 is within 5 points of the 1390 needed to pass.
• PT, PR essay, and Business Associations essay each earned a 60, within the target range of 60-65.
• Criminal Law and Constitutional Law had the highest MBE percentile ranks.

A 59.9-point deficiency is 30 raw written points away. That could be:

• +10 points to Evidence and +5 points to each of the other four essays
• Get every essay to 60 and +5 points to PT
• +10 points to PT and +5 points to any two essays

What needs improvement

• Written portion (particularly the essays) needs the largest improvement.
• Lowest essay score of 50 was for the Evidence essay. Remedies and Wills/Community Property each earned a 55, so three essays fell below the 60-65 target range.
  • BTW, the Evidence essay was a transcript Q&A-style question, which is what I called out in Approsheets with a link to an example:

My comments

• Diagnose the essays first. What are the reasons for the 50 and 55? Are there inaccurate rules? Do more issues and sub-issues need to be discussed?
• PT at 60 is already within the target range. However, this is still a high-leverage area. Try to bump this up by +5 at least.
• Start with Evidence. It had the lowest grade and an MBE subject, so deeper Evidence study helps both the essay and the MBE. Then move to Remedies and Wills/Community Property.
• It’s hard to tell if the essay scores would have been higher had the essays tested more MBE subjects. It’s uncommon for an exam to have fewer than 3 (let alone 2) MBE subjects tested on the essays.
• Non-MBE topics are still lower priority. Therefore, I would not immediately try to go deeper on Wills. I would, however, take a closer look at Community Property and Remedies over Wills because Community Property is one of the most frequently tested essay subjects and Remedies are an extension of Torts and Contracts.
• Keep the MBE on “maintenance mode” with a daily set of practice questions (10 or more).

What if you failed the California Bar Exam by more than 100 points?

Possibly, you bombed the MBE, the essays, the PT, or some combination. You might have gotten mostly 50s or 55s on your essays. Or had weaknesses across the board.

If you got a 50 on the PT (or anything lower than 60), it needs immediate remedial attention. In fact, the PT is where I look first on the score report because people tend to neglect it.

But imagine you had prioritized it for July and gotten a 65 instead of 50. That’s 65.7 total scaled points you left on the table (+15 difference × 2 for PT × 4.38 raw-to-scaled conversion × 0.5 weight). Put another way, it’s the difference between 1324.3 and passing.

There’s hope. You can see how simple it is to reclaim points. You can find people who closed gaps of 100, 150, or even 200 points once they took the right approach for them.

UBE scaling explanation

Total scaled score = MBE scaled score + written scaled score

Each portion is out of 200, so the total score is out of 400. You need points that can come from either portion. A point gained in either portion moves the total score by one point. For jurisdictions requiring a total score of 266, 133 on each portion is an even split.

The written portion is split into 30% for the MEE (5% per essay) and 20% for the MPT (10% per task).

A very rough conversion from the older MBE conversion table (190-question scale) is about 1.2 more correct answers per MBE scaled point. Keep this in mind for the analyses below.

UBE Score Report 1 (Illinois)

Total score: 256 (140.2 written + 116.2 MBE)
Points needed to pass in Illinois (266): 10

What went well

• MPT 2 earned a 4 (Illinois average 3.5), and MPT 1 earned a 3 (average 3.0).
• MEE 1 (Criminal Law & Procedure) earned a 5, which was 1.5 above the Illinois average.
• Written scaled score is above the even split of 133.

A 10-point deficiency can come from either portion. That could be, in my order of preference:

• +10 on the MBE
• +5 on each portion
• +10 on the written portion

What needs improvement

• MBE needs the most attention. It is 16.8 points below an even split of 133. With the written score unchanged, 125.8 on the MBE was needed.
• This translates to about 11 to 12 more correct answers, based on a very rough estimate from an older conversion table. This is doable.
• MEE 3 (Contracts) earned a 1 against an Illinois average of 3.5. That is 2.5 below average. Contracts is an immediate area for improvement as an MBE subject.

My comments

• Given the high written scores, I don’t think there’s a memorization or recall problem with stating issues and rules.
• Diagnose the Contracts essay first. Was it a knowledge problem? The other essays did well, but the MBE did not, which points to lack of knowledge in smaller nuances. Or did time run out, was an issue missed, or did the answer address a different question than the one asked? MEE questions tend to tell you the issues, so the answer should address the specific legal question and sub-issues. Contracts is also tested on the MBE, so deeper Contracts study can help with both the MBE and the MEE.
• Ultimately, this examinee should prioritize the MBE heavily. This means reviewing the details more closely because the MBE likes to test smaller nuances and exceptions. Then practice and deep review that takes at least as long as practice. There is no point in “doing problems” if you don’t study your work.
• I would also add at least one full 200-question diagnostic set. This way you practice endurance and moving on when you’re tempted to spend 20 minutes on one question. James, who passed Illinois and California, calls getting caught up on a difficult question “the #1 most costly mistake you can make on the MBE.”

How many MBE questions should I practice?

I don’t have a magic number of questions you need to move your MBE score. That depends on you, not me.

In the sample schedules in Passer’s Playbook, I suggest at least 10 per day as a minimum. But this is arbitrary and just a way to get your momentum rolling.

Don’t be satisfied with the bare minimum. This means realistically you should look to work on at least 20-30 and probably no more than 50 because you need time to review your work. 50 MBE questions is about 4 hours of work or more.

“How long does it take?” “How many should I do?” This is a great sign someone is going to fail. If you’re asking this question, the answer is to do as many as you can.

UBE Score Report 2 (New York)

Total score: 258 (122.0 written + 136.0 MBE)
Points needed to pass in New York (266): 8

What went well

• MBE scaled score of 136.0 is above the even split of 133.
• Torts, Constitutional Law, and Evidence have the highest MBE percentile ranks.
• MEE 2 and MEE 5 got the highest scaled essay scores.

An 8-point deficiency can come from either portion. That could be, in my order of preference:

• +8 on the written portion
• +4 on each portion
• +8 on the MBE, which is roughly 9 to 10 more correct answers

What needs improvement

• Written portion needs the largest improvement. With the MBE score unchanged, about 130 is needed on the written portion.
• Both MPTs (41.27 and 41.87) are below the MEE average of 44.51. This suggests that MPTs need the most attention. Remember that each MPT counts 10% toward your score.

My comments

• Give the written portion the largest share of study time, starting with the MPTs. Yes, forget about diving into flashcards for now. This examinee needs to develop the ability to synthesize MPT materials right now. Also, start practicing two MPTs back to back under timed conditions because that’s the first thing you’ll do on the exam.
• Work on improving the essays. The decent MBE score suggests that this examinee knows the law pretty well, but perhaps improvement is needed on (1) IRACing/presentation or (2) identifying and presenting the relevant issues.
• Keep the MBE in “maintenance mode” with a daily set of mixed practice questions. Pay particular attention to Real Property, Contracts, and Civil Procedure, the lowest percentile ranks, and reassess as study progresses. General improvement on the MBE should help with the essays.

NextGen UBE scaling explanation

The NextGen UBE total score is on a 500 to 750 scale. Similar to the legacy UBE, each jurisdiction sets its own passing score.

NCBE’s recommended mapping to the legacy UBE is one-to-one within the passing range of 610 to 620. “This range maps to the legacy UBE passing score range of 260 to 270.” See also this table from the Bar Examiner.

Standalone multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are 49% of the score, performance tasks (PTs) are 30%, and integrated question sets (IQSes) are 21%. Sub-scores on the report are percentile ranks (% who scored below you), so they show relative strength.

NextGen UBE Score Report (Maryland)

Total score: 600

Points needed to pass in Maryland (616): 16

What went well

• MCQ Real Property is at the 61.0 percentile, the highest of any MCQ sub-score.
• Evidence (23.2) and Business Associations (18.8) follow Real Property among the highest-percentile multiple-choice subjects.
• Performance Tasks (30.2) and Legal Research Performance Tasks (22.7) are the highest constructed-response sub-scores.

What needs improvement

• MCQ performance is mixed. Four of the five lowest sub-scores are multiple-choice subjects: Criminal Law (1.6), Constitutional Law (4.1), Civil Procedure (9.3), and Contracts (11.2).
• Counseling Item Sets (12.3) and Drafting Item Sets (18.9) are the lowest constructed-response sub-scores.
• The total score of 600 is at the 15.8 percentile nationally. A 16-point deficiency is not hopeless but isn’t that close either. Given the recommended 1:1 mapping, imagine someone getting a 250 on a legacy exam requiring 266.

My comments

• There isn’t much practice material for the NextGen UBE. There are sample questions for each question type as well as study aids you can purchase from the NCBE. The existing courses try to prepare you for it, but I’m getting mixed reviews.
• That said, there are many similarities to the legacy UBE. The MCQ is similar to the MBE. PTs are similar to the MPTs. You can think of the IQS as a combination of all of the legacy MBE, MEE, and MPT (albeit with shorter answers). The underlying knowledge needed (7 MBE subjects + Business Associations = the “eight foundational subjects”) and the ability to parse through dense materials is the same as the UBE. But you might trip over the format, especially for the IQS. Therefore, make sure to familiarize yourself with each format.
• MCQs and IQSes can test any of the eight foundational subjects, including multiple subjects within a single set. Start with the four MBE subjects above (Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, and Contracts). Reassess weak areas as study progresses. In general, review each miss until the same mistake no longer repeats. Don’t stop when you get something right. Stop when you no longer get it wrong. That’s the “double tap” strategy that makes sure the target is down.
• MCQs are 49% of the score for 40% of exam time, so this is a generally good place to prioritize. IQSes are worth 21% of the score for 27% of exam time, so it’s probably not as valuable to get lost in the weeds over (i) building a knowledge base for the eight foundational subjects that can apply to both MCQs and IQSes, and (ii) understanding the IQS formats.

Did this give you an idea of how to move forward in your own prep?