LAW SCHOOL ATTRITION
This section explores student performance in law schools. In particular, it explores attrition among first-year law students and performance on the First-Year Law Students’ Exam, an exam whose passage is required of students enrolled in unaccredited schools prior to starting their second year of law school.
ATTRITION AMONG FIRST-YEAR LAW STUDENTS
Attrition in higher education refers to students who leave their institutions without completing their intended degrees. The following analyses explore attrition rates among first-year law students (1L) who discontinue their studies before commencing their second year of law school. Attrition rates are disaggregated by reason (academic and “other” reasons). Transfers to other law schools and students who pause their enrollment as they attempt to pass the first-year law student exam (see below) are excluded from this analysis. For more details on the methodology used to explore non-transfer attrition among 1L students, see the methodology section of this report.
More than half of 1L students at unaccredited schools experienced attrition, with law students of color experiencing the highest attrition rate.
Figure 6 explores attrition rates for total students and disaggregated for white students, students of color, and by gender identity. More than half of 1L students at unaccredited law schools experienced attrition compared with 42 percent and 8 percent of their counterparts at the CALS and ABA-approved schools, respectively. When comparing attrition rates at ABA-approved schools and CALS, there was minimal variation between white law students and law students of color. However, students of color at unaccredited schools had higher attrition rates than white students (58 percent compared with 50 percent). Men’s attrition rates were slightly higher than women’s for all three school types. Finally, at ABA-approved schools, most of the nontransfer attrition was attributed to academic reasons. In contrast, the CALS and unaccredited schools experienced a higher proportion of non-transfer attrition for reasons other than academics.
In summary, students of color experienced higher attrition rates at unaccredited schools compared to their white counterparts, while men exhibited higher attrition rates compared to women at all three types of law schools.
Figure 6. 1L Nontransfer Attrition Rates by Reason for Attrition by Race/Ethnicity and Gender Identity
Note: Due to rounding, numbers presented for type of attrition may not add up precisely to total attrition. Neither the CALS nor unaccredited schools reported nonbinary identified students in their 2021 first-year cohorts.
Figure 7. 1L Nontransfer Attrition Rates by Reason for Attrition by Detailed Race/Ethnicity
Note: Due to rounding, numbers presented for type of attrition may not add up precisely to total attrition.
Nearly 70 percent of 1L Black students and 73 percent of 1L multiracial students enrolled at unaccredited schools did not continue into their second year.
Figure 7 displays attrition rates by racial/ethnic groups of 1L students. The analysis is limited to groups of students of 11 or more 1L students. See methodology for a discussion on cell suppression. For all racial/ethnic groups at the ABA schools, academic attrition predominates as the reason for attrition. In contrast, most attrition at the CALS and unaccredited schools is for nonacademic reasons. At the ABA-approved schools, Black and Native American 1L students have the highest attrition rates, while multiracial students have the highest attrition rates at the CALS. Nearly 70 percent of 1L Black students experience attrition at unaccredited law schools. Multiracial students at the unaccredited schools also had a high attrition rate of 73 percent.
FIRST-YEAR LAW STUDENTS’ EXAM PASS RATES
Students completing their first year of study at the state’s unaccredited law schools or who pursued the LOSP must take and pass the California First-Year Law Students’ Exam (FYLSX). This exam is also required of all students enrolled in California’s ABA-approved schools and CALS students pursuing licensure in California unless the student establishes an exemption. Most students enrolled in ABA-approved schools and CALS establish an exemption from the exam by successfully completing the first-year course of instruction and becoming eligible to advance to the second year. Those who do not successfully complete their first year of course instruction or did not complete at least two years of college education before enrolling in law school must take the FYLSX. In general, the vast majority of students who take the FYLSX are enrolled in unaccredited schools. The exam includes typical topics studied by a first-year law student: contracts, criminal law, and torts. California law is not part of the exam.[9]
An analysis of the 10,340 students who sat for the FYLSX for the first time between June 2000 and October 2016 found that students attending unaccredited law schools comprised 85 percent of students taking the exam. Only 27 percent of test takers passed the FYLSX on the first try and less than half (44 percent) eventually passed.[10]