<p>2011-Liberty is the only Virginia school to achieve the 100 percent rate in the state this year. Washington & Lee was at 90 percent; George Mason, 84.8 percent; University of Virginia, 75 percent; and the College of William & Mary, 73.3 percent.</p>
<p>[Liberty</a> University School of Law Hits 100 Percent Bar Passage Rate in Virginia - Press Releases: PR Newswire - SunHerald.com](<a href=“http://www.sunherald.com/2011/04/21/3046831/liberty-university-school-of-law.html]Liberty”>http://www.sunherald.com/2011/04/21/3046831/liberty-university-school-of-law.html)</p>
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<p>This is a bogus stat, but it’s being posted repeatedly, so I’ll respond again. </p>
<p>There are two 2011 Virginia bar exams: the main one in July (a few months after law school graduation), and a secondary one in February. The posted stats are for the secondary February 2011 exam – the main July 2011 exam obviously hasn’t happened yet. So in reality, there is no way to know yet what pass rate Liberty (or any other school) will have for 2011. But it won’t be 100%, and it won’t be the best in the state. </p>
<p>The February bar exam is much smaller than the July exam. The Feb exam is primarily taken by people who failed in July of the previous year, or who fell off of the regular academic schedule for some reason. Notice how Liberty doesn’t tell you the actual number of students involved in that “100% pass rate” – that’s probably because the number is quite small.</p>
<p>February bar exams results are not considered meaningful, because they only involve a small number of students, usually non-typical students. The July results are the ones that matter. The February results will ultimately be combined with the July results to yield the overall pass rate for the year, but since far more people take the July exams, the February results usually don’t have much effect on the overall pass rate. </p>
<p>During the most recent July bar exam, in July 2010, Liberty’s pass rate was below the statewide average, and it ranked fifth of eight Virginia law schools.</p>
<p>In February 2010, the Florida Bar [reported[/url</a>] that Ave Maria School of Law, a conservative Catholic school, led the state with a perfect 100% bar pass rate.</p>
<p>Supporters of the school and its religious philosophy were absolutely [url=<a href=“http://stayviolation.typepad.com/chuc*******/2010/04/ave-maria-school-of-law-scores-where-it-matters-most.html]thrilled[/url”>Chuck Newton]thrilled[/url</a>].</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that 100% statistic became a bit less compelling when it [url=<a href=“72% pass the bar in February – The Florida Bar”>72% pass the bar in February – The Florida Bar]turned</a> out](<a href=“http://barprofessors.blogspot.com/2010/04/february-2010-florida-bar-exam-results.html]reported[/url”>July 2023 Essay Predictions - UBE, Florida, California - Now Available -Bar Professors: February 2010 Florida Bar Exam Results by Law School) that only one Ave Maria graduate had taken the February 2010 Florida bar exam. </p>
<p>So exactly how many Liberty students are involved in that lovely 100% pass rate for the February 2011 Virginia bar exam? I can’t find the number in Liberty’s press release.</p>
<p>Considering the school only graduates somewhere around 30 students a year, I would guess it’s a number you could count on one hand.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the 2010 results from Virginia Lawyers Weekly. </p>
<p>[1139</a> pass July bar exam](<a href=“Virginia Lawyers Weekly | Virginia Lawyers Weekly”>Virginia Lawyers Weekly | Virginia Lawyers Weekly)</p>
<p>W&L’s numbers seem low.</p>