University of Virginia Library

Retake Of Law Test Suggested

In a statement to the members
of the pre-legal committee, Charles
Vandersee, assistant professor
of English, suggested that University
students should retake the
Law School Admission Test
(LSAT).

Mr. Vandersee based his suggestion
on information from the
Educational Testing Service
which provided LSAT scores for
University students who took the
test in February.

Of the 120 students who took
the test, 42 had taken it previously
in November, 1967. Of the
42, 34 improved their score,
while eight scored lower. The
range of difference in scores between
November and February
ran from 43 points worse to 167
points better on a scale where 200
is lowest and 800 highest.

Mr. Vandersee pointed out two
cautionary remarks in his statement.
In the first he reports, "I
suspect that there are students
who may be undecided in November
about law school but have
made up their minds more definitely
by February, and that this
could well reflect itself in the
scores."

Mr. Vandersee added, "the
second caution is that the Educational
Testing Service does send
both scores, the original and the
retake, to law schools. Furthermore,
they advise the law schools
to average the two.

Thus, a student who knows
he did his very best the first time
around will want to consider
carefully whether he is really
justified in retaking it, and
whether a slight improvement
will really help him very much."