Shahroze Rauf | News Editor
Featured Image: Kaplan says the LSAT is the most important part of a law school application. | Pixabay
As of September 2019, the LSAT will be available digitally across North America. Rather than paper booklets, the multiple-choice exam will be given to examinees on Microsoft Surface tablets.
Law School Admission Council (LSAC) President and CEO Kellye Y. Testy thanked her team in a news release when launching the digital LSAT.
“So many people over so many years made this milestone possible for LSAC. I thank you all: our board members having faith in us, the dedication and hard work of the LSAC team, and our first-class technology partners at Microsoft. I especially want to thank our test center teams and the thousands of test takers who took the plunge with us and signed up to take the July LSAT. Together we have begun a new chapter in LSAC’s proud history.”
Preparing for the LSAT will remain the same; the format and overall content will not change. The LSAC has made several resources available on their official website to help students study.
“We have published several full digital practice tests to the Digital LSAT familiarization site, and we will continue to add more in the weeks and months ahead. These practice tests provide an experience that mirrors the Digital LSAT. Prospective test takers can access the familiarization tutorial and practice tests on a laptop, desktop computer, tablet, or smartphone,” reads the LSAC website.
As for preparation for the LSAT, Kaplan’s senior manager for instructional design and Kaplan LSAT instructor for over 20 years, Glen Stohr, says that the medium for the LSAT is changing, not the content, which means preparation will not change much.
“Taking the exam on a tablet is probably new to most, so it’s important to practice the exam in this format. Fortunately, the Law School Admission Council, the organization that administers and writes the LSAT, has a digital familiarization tool that lets you use the exact functionality you’ll see on test day. At Kaplan, we’ve integrated that into our courses to give our students authentic practice,” says Stohr.
Stohr confirms that the exam will be administered using the Microsoft Surface Go Tablet, including a stylus and tools that students would regularly use in Microsoft Word.
“The digitalization of the LSAT also adds some new security to the test taking experience. Since a proprietary software delivers the LSAT on these tablets, if somebody tries to take one, once it’s out of range of its ‘mothership computer,’ it would have nothing on it. It would be rendered useless. That’s a good thing for the integrity of the process,” says Stohr.
Stohr adds that other security measures taken to prevent academic dishonesty include on-site LSAT technology, which monitors every tablet in use during the examination. This means exams are simultaneously monitored and replaced if there are any rare technical difficulties.
“The digital shift also provides more uniformity in the timing of each section. There’s a countdown timer on-screen and a pop-up 5-minute warning that the test taker must dismiss. Every test taker can expect the same experience on every section at every test site,” says Stohr.
Kaplan surveys have also amassed data over the years from law school admissions officers. They conclude that the LSAT score is the most important part of an application when considering a student. To make sure students score the highest grade possible, Stohr encourages students to practice as much as they can.
“Realistic questions under test-like conditions should make test day go a lot smoother. Confidence is a key part of doing well on any exam, including the LSAT,” says Stohr.
