LSAT Scoring Breakdown: What You Need To Know Before Test Day

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is the standardized benchmark most ABA-approved law schools require for admission. But before diving into prep, you need to understand how LSAT scoring works and what the exam actually measures.

How LSAT Scoring Actually Works

When you finish the LSAT, you’ll receive two scores: a raw score and a scaled score. Your raw score simply counts correct answers—and here’s the key difference: wrong answers don’t hurt you. That raw count then gets converted into your official LSAT scoring scale, which ranges from 120 to 180.

The scaled score is what law schools care about. According to LSAC research tracking first-year law school performance, the median LSAT score sits at 153. If you’re aiming for a competitive program, you’ll want to score above this median.

What Skills Does The Exam Test?

The LSAT evaluates five core competencies through these sections:

Reading Comprehension — You’ll tackle four sets of dense reading material, from legal texts to academic passages. The section tests your ability to grasp sophisticated arguments, synthesize information and identify relationships between complex texts. Questions may ask you to identify main ideas, spot explicit and implicit information, or analyze how arguments are structured.

Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) — This section measures deductive reasoning through scenario-based problems. You’ll need to determine what must be true or could be true based on given facts and rules. While not law-specific, these skills directly translate to analyzing contracts, regulations and case law.

Logical Reasoning — Since legal practice centers on argumentation, this section assesses your ability to analyze, evaluate and construct arguments. You’ll read short passages and answer questions about argument structure, logical flaws, analogical reasoning and how evidence affects conclusions.

Writing Sample — In this separate, unscored section, you take a position based on evidence and defend it logically. This demonstrates argumentative writing ability, which is critical for law school success.

Variable Section — The LSAT includes an unscored experimental section to test new questions.

Understanding Your Time Constraints

The multiple-choice portion consists of four sections, each lasting 35 minutes. You’ll get 10-minute breaks between sections two and three. The writing sample takes another 35 minutes. Total test time: approximately three hours.

Here’s the challenge: each section contains roughly 25 questions packed into dense material. That leaves minimal time per question. The silver lining? Wrong answers don’t count against your raw LSAT scoring—only correct ones matter.

Breaking Down LSAT Test Costs

Taking the LSAT involves multiple fees beyond the exam itself:

• Exam Fee: $215 (includes writing portion; each retake also costs $215)
• CAS Subscription: $195 for five-year access to the Credential Assembly Service, required by most ABA schools
• CAS Report Fee: $45 per school
• Score Preview: $45 before test day, $75 after (lets you decide whether to keep your score)
• Official Score Report: $50 (shows all scores including unreportable ones)
• Score Audit: $150 if you want your LSAT scoring reviewed

The writing portion cannot be taken separately, but you can retake the multiple-choice sections without retaking the writing portion if you’re satisfied with that component.

Why The LSAT Matters For Your Law Career

Law schools use LSAT scores as a primary admissions criterion because the exam directly measures skills essential to legal practice: logical thinking, argumentation, reading comprehension and analytical reasoning. An above-average LSAT score can open doors to competitive programs and may predict your success during your first year of law studies.

Taking the LSAT isn’t just about checking a box—it’s about demonstrating you’re ready for the intellectual demands of a juris doctor program and legal practice itself.