How is the multistate portion (MBE) of the Virginia exam scored?
Immediately following the exam the multistate answer sheets are sent to American College Testing, contractor for the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which scores the answer sheets in accordance with an answer key developed by the testing committees of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. The exam is then equated with a standard exam to attempt to insure that an MBE given in one year is of the same degree of difficulty as one given in another. This results in a scaled score which is returned by applicant number to the Secretary’s office. Virginia uses these scaled scores in combination with the scores on the essay/short answer portion of the exam to determine which applicants should be admitted to the Virginia bar.
