WUCL Leads the State (Again) in Bar Exam Passage
September 30, 2008
This summer, Willamette University College of Law graduates surpassed their peers in Oregon State Bar examination passage for the sixth consecutive year.
Among Willamette’s first-time takers, 89.2 percent passed the July 2008 examination. The state passage rate for all first-time takers was 81.4 percent (chart 1). Willamette’s 2008 passage rate for first-time takers was the highest since 1995 (90.7 percent) and almost three points higher than last year (86.4 percent).
This year’s overall passage rate for Willamette’s first-timer takers and repeaters was 83.1 percent — the school's highest overall passage rate since 1995 (88.6 percent) (chart 2).
Although Willamette’s average passage rate for the first five years of the decade was below the state average (70.3 percent vs. 75.4 percent), the school's average passage rate increased to 83.8 percent in the last five-year period (chart 3). Willamette’s passage rate increased by 13.5 percentage points during the five-year period, while the state average rose by less than three points.
