MD law schools see dip in bar exam pass rate, but first-timers improve again

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Alumni of Maryland’s two law schools scored lower on the February state bar exam than they did the previous year, but first-time test-takers improved again.

In the last test before the NextGen bar exam debuts in July, graduates of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law scored above average for those taking the exam in Maryland, while graduates of the University of Baltimore School of Law scored close to the state’s average.

A total of 351 people took the Maryland bar exam in February, according to the Maryland State Board of Law Examiners, and 138 passed, for a success rate of 39%. Of those, 130 earned a J.D. from either Carey or UB; 10 graduates of their Master of Laws also took the test.

RELATED: Here’s who passed the February 2026 Maryland Bar Exam

From Carey Law, 45 J.D. recipients took the test, with 44% passing. UB saw 85 J.D. recipients take the test, with a hair under 39% passing.

The overall numbers were worse than last year, when 44% of UB alumni and 48% of Carey alumni passed, but they performed better than the 2024 results.

First-timers from both schools scored significantly higher than they did last year. From UB, two-thirds of first-timers passed, up from 59% last year. Carey saw 71% of alumni pass on the first try, up from 63% last year. Last year’s numbers showed growth from the year before.

Micah Yarbrough, director of bar preparation programs at Carey Law, said the improved success rates for first- and second-time test-takers show that recent bar-oriented changes to the curriculum are working. He said that although February exam results are important, the school measures success by bar performance in a calendar year. The year-to-year dip is “negligible,” he said, because far fewer people take the test in February.

“From an institutional perspective, we are encouraged that our first-time taker rate has an upward trajectory,” Yarbrough stated in an email.

“This clearly indicates that our current curriculum is working towards preparing our most recent graduates for the bar,” he continued. “Here we also see that our second-time takers (those who were unsuccessful in July 2025) improved as well. This means fewer graduates stuck in limbo.”

The February bar exam typically sees fewer test-takers and lower scores, and this year was not an exception. Last July, more than twice as many people took the Maryland bar exam, earning an overall pass rate of 63% and a 76% first-time pass rate.

The vast majority of alumni of the two schools take the bar in Maryland as opposed to other jurisdictions.

Both schools rose in the latest law school rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Carey ranked 62nd and UB at 136th. Last year, Carey was ranked 63rd, and UB was 139th.

At 18th, Georgetown University Law Center was the highest-ranking school in the region. George Washington University ranked 26th, and George Mason University ranked 32nd. The Catholic University of America placed 70th, American University placed 108th, and Howard University came in at 117th.

In July, Maryland and eight other states or territories will roll out the NextGen bar exam, a new version of the Uniform Bar Exam. The NextGen exam is intended to test lawyering skills holistically, deprioritizing rote memorization. It will take nine hours over a day and a half, rather than 12 hours over two days.

The test will be limited to 1,000 people as the Maryland Board of Law Examiners warned of limited capacity and a potential increase in applicants. Fewer than 900 people took the test in the past three summer tests; the last time it hit four digits was in 2022, when 1,003 people took the test.