How Many Students Took the Law School Admission Tests - Essay Example

Table of Contents 0 Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….2 1 Background of the study……………………………………..……………………………………………4 2 Purpose of the study………………………………………………………………………………….5 1.3 Research Question……………………………………………………………………5 2.0 Literature Review……………………………………………………………………………6 3.0 Research Methodology…………………………………………………………………….8 3.1 Research Hypothesis………………………………………………………………..8 3.2 Presentation of Raw Data…………………………………………………………9 3.3 Descriptive Statistics……………………………………………………………..12 3.4 Group Data………………………………………………………………………..13 3.5 Relationship between Variables…………………………………………………14 3.5.1 Regression Analysis………………………………………………………..14 4.0 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..15 1.0 Introduction LSAT (Law School Admission Tests) is a mandatory test taken by applicants who wish to join law schools in America and Canada. Most countries are also adopting the same strategy as a way of standardizing applicants and assuring law schools that they admit applicants whose proficiency match the requirements of law schools. The schools that have made it mandatory requirements for students to take the LSAT in the U.S. are all members of the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) (Burdette 4). According to Michigan State University, most Law Schools have adopted the LSAT admissions criteria to improve their overall rankings in the LSAC (128). In essence, Law Schools will try to place higher LSAT requirements for students so that they are protrayed as having higher standards and so that they compete effectively. LSAC implemented the requirement to ensure uniformity in the criteria that member schools used to admit students to their law programs. However, the validity of LSAT has come under controversy considering that there is a possibility that students who might be proficient could be left out by LSAT requirement. A study conducted by Domino & Domino established that 54% of those students who passed the LSAT actually proved that the test was valid. The study was conducted on first year students using their average scores in various Law Schools and involved 726 students (12). However, Domino & Domino also explain that the values were very different across schools. Controversies have also recently arisen over cheating where some students hire other people to take the tests for them. The general realization from these findings is that there are other factors that influence the LSAT other than the standardization requirement by the schools. For instance, Law Schools might make the tests extremely difficult so that they appear as having high quality students and therefore influence the admission of their graduates to the mainstream practising of the Law. The essence of tests is not to lock out candidates but to ensure that only those candidates with the correct qualifications are admitted. The following paper seeks to establish the nature of correlation between the number of students who take LSAT and the ones who actually get admitted in Law schools so as to determine whether most students who take the exams fail or pass. 1.1 Background of the Study According to Burdette, “LSAT is usually administered by the Law School Admissions Council a non-profit organization…”(4) and the general realization is that Law Schools realized that they needed some form of standardized criteria for all Law Schools that could be used in admitting students. The results of the LSAT are usually a requirement that are considered jointly with other “undergraduate” credentials for admission in Law Schools. Every year “tens of thousands of students” take the test according to (Burdette 4). LSAT does not actually test for proficiency in law or any other faculty but tests for proficiency in general skills such as verbal, logical analytical and writing. In addition, according to the LSAT rules and regulations applicants “may not take LSAT more than three times in a two year period” (The LSAT). LSAT has been used for many years by many Law schools particularly the ones that are members LSAC. LSAC had deemed it important to replicate the criteria used by American Bar Association (ABA) where it was a requirement for applicants to take standardized exams to prove their proficiency before they were admitted as members of the association. In essence, they deemed important to make the work of Law Schools easier by requiring applicants to take LSAT before they were admitted to various Law Schools. In addition, the government supported the initiative because it would ensure that Law Schools only invested in students who had the academic proficiency to undertake Law and therefore prevent unnecessary wastage of resources on students who would later drop out or be expelled due to poor performance. Burdette observes that the government and other stakeholders made a criteria to provide funding only for those Law Schools that conducted LSAT on applicants before admitting them to their Law programs (17). However, LSAT began to draw controversies in terms of how the standardized tests were able to cater for the socio-economic and cultural differences among applicants. For instance, previous studies have indicated that the tests usually favor some students (Brooks 35). There have been complaints that the tests are not sensitive to racial and socio-economic differences that may put some students at a disadvantage. A study documented by Meier outlines that the LSAT statistics indicate that of all the students who took LSAT in 2010 in the U.S. only 39% managed to pass the examinations and 10% of the 39% were retaking the tests after the first failure. 1.2 Purpose of the Study The purpose of the study is to establish the nature of the correlation between the students who take LSAT and the students who actually get admitted to Law Schools. I chose this study because I believe that I am an intepretevist researcher and I believe that by interpreting the findings I can come to some deductive conclusion. The results of the study can also be used to relate to other data and determine the reason for either a positive or a negative correlation in the numbers of students who sit LSAT exams and the number who actually get admitted to the law programs of various Law Schools. 1.3 Research Question The research question for the study will be to establish whether there is a significant relationship between the number of students who take LSAT test and the number of students who get admitted to law schools. The study obtained the data of 30 schools picked at for the year 2010 in different states in the U.S. 2.0 literature Review According to University of Maryland examinations results are usually supposed to follow a curve where few students pass exceptionally, and few students fail terribly while a majority of the students are found in between (609). However, strong deviations from such curves might indicate that the examinations were either too easy for the students or that they were too difficult. The current trend according to Burdette indicate the there is an increase in the number of students who fail the LSAT without a corresponding increase in the number of students passing the tests. Demographic dynamics in the U.S. definitely indicate that there should be an increase in the number of applicants. However, such an increase should be accompanied by a reasonable increase in the number of applicants admitted in law schools. However, the generalization is that there seems to be a decrease. According to Brooks, previous studies have already indicated that law schools are employing stricter rules requiring students to score exceptionally higher in their LSAT’s to secure for their admissions (126). Practising of Law has been considered as one of the most highest paying careers in the United States driving millions of applicants to consider law as their career choice just so that they can secure comfortable future. The effect is that there has been an increase in the number of applicants every year to law schools. With the increase in the number of applicants and the need to ensure that only the applicants with the correct credentials are taken, the LSAC devised a standardized method by requiring students to take LSAT tests. However, current studies also indicate that law schools are laos using the LSAT to improve their competitiveness. Law firms usually admit candidates that are from reputable law schools known to produce quality lawyer. Compounded by the increasing costs and difficulties in acquiring reputable lawyers, firms have narrowed their approach to the law schools that have good reputations. The result is that only those students that attend reputable law firms stand the chance of getting well paying jobs in first class law firms. Students on the other hand look for law schools that are reputable so that after they graduate they do not spend a lot of time looking for jobs (Domino 345). The general realization is that law schools have been engaging in cut-throat initiatives to ensure that their brands are reputable. One of the approaches adopted by law schools is to place a requirement for higher scores in LSAT for admission. The concept is that when their build a reputation of requiring higher scores then they will create the impression that they are more competitive. As a result there are higher posibility that their graduands will secure positions in reputable law firms. Consequently, the law schools will even draw more applicants. In essence, there could be a deliberate undertaking by law schools to place higher requirements to students so that they can improve on their competitiveness in the industry. 3.0 Research Methodology The study will use descriptive statistics collected from the results of 30 Law Schools across the United States and use statistical tools to determine the nature of correlation and other statistical trends in the data collected. Correlation provides a statistical approach to determine the association between two sets of qualitative data. The correlation will act as an indicator because the number of students that actually get admitted to law programs in comparison with the total number of applicants that take the LSAT, test can provide information of whether the LSAT is a valid method or not. A scatter plot will be drawn to establish whether there is a relationship between the number of students who take the LSAT test and the number of students who get admitted to law schools. A regression analysis will be conducted on the data to determine whether the number of students who take LSAT test is an indicator of the number of students who get admitted to law schools. The regression analysis should also lead to the determination of the appropriate regression equation. 3.1 Research Hypotheses The study will adopt both null and alternative hypotheses. With regard to the directions of previous studies, observations and as a result of inductive reasoning and the research question, the study will adopt and seek to test the following hypothesis: The null hypothesis H0 = There is no significant difference between the number of applicants taking LSAT test and the number actually admitted in law schools. The null hypothesis will be tested using alternative hypothesis H1 = there is a positive relationship between the number of applicants taking the LSAT test and the number of applicants that get admitted by law schools. 3.2 Presentation of Data Figure 1 show the raw data collected from 30 different schools picked at random across the U.S as adapted from International Legal Research Group. Table 1 No. Law School LSAT Low LSAT High % Acceptance 1 Thomas M. Cooley 145 154 73.8 2 Western New England 150 156 71 3 Loyola U. New Orleans 149 155 67.2 4 Golden State 150 154 62.9 5 Whittier Law School 149 153 61.6 6 Vermont Law School 151 158 58.6 7 New England Sch. Of Law 150 153 57.7 8 Oklahoma City University 147 152 57.2 9 Roger Williams University 151 155 57 10 Barry University 148 152 55.3 11 Florida Coastal 149 154 54.9 12 California Western 150 156 54.9 13 Duquesne University 151 155 52.8 14 Regent University 150 156 52.8 15 Mississippi College 148 153 52.3 16 Washburn University 150 156 52.3 17 St. Louis University 154 159 52.3 18 Southern Illinois-Carbondale 151 156 52 19 Wayne State U. 152 158 51.8 20 Santa Clara University 156 161 51.3 21 William Mitchell 151 157 51.3 22 Capital University 151 156 51.2 23 St. Marys University 149 156 51.1 24 U. of Tulsa 151 155 51 25 Widener University 150 154 51 26 Ave Maria School of Law 147 155 51 27 U. of Miami 155 160 50.9 28 U. of Dayton 149 154 50.7 29 Drake University 153 158 50.7 30 South Texas Col. Of Law 150 155 50.5 The data in Table 1 shows the number of % acceptance by law schools of students after taking the LSAT test over a period of 6 years from 2003 to 2009. The % acceptance can be defined as the percentage of students who got admitted to the law schools in relation to the total number of students who took the LSAT test. The data made use of the average between the highest and the lowest number of students who took the LSAT test between 2003 and 2009. According to Table 1, Thomas Cooley law school had the highest percentage acceptance of 73.8 while South Texas College of Law had the least percentage of 50.5. The Table also shows that Santa Clara University had the highest number of applicants taking the LSAT test (161 applicants) while Thomas Cooley University had the least (145 applicants). Thomas Cooley University which had the lowest number of applicants also had the highest percentage acceptance of 73.8. However, despite the fact the Santa Clara University recorded the highest number of applicant (161), it did not have the lowest percentage acceptance as the lowest percentage acceptance went to South Texas University with 50.5. The figures might suggest that the not many students are interested in in studying at Thomas Coley University and therefore the university could be compensating by giving less difficult LSAT test demonstrated by high number of students accepted. Despite the fact that Santa Clara had the highest number of applicants, it did not record the least percentage acceptance as this went to South Texas University which had a maximum of 150 applicants and 50.5 percentage acceptance. Therefore, students who take their LSAT tests at Thomas Cooley have high chances of being accepted, but again not many students would prefer the University. The findings suggest that the data refutes the initial hypothesis that there is a positive relationship between the number of students who take LSAT test and the number of students who get admitted to law schools. The fact can be established by comparing Thomas Cooley University and Florida Coastal University. Although the two Universities recorded the same maximum number of applicants during the 6 years they had a significant acceptance percentage of 18.9. Percentage Acceptance from 2003-2006 Mean: 1659.1/30 = 55.30 Median: 52.3 Mode: 51.3 and 52.3 Range: 23.3 Standard Deviation 6.216 The data in Table 1 and the descriptive statistics calculations imply that the percentage acceptance of students is evenly spaced across the law schools demonstrated by a narrow range, a small standard deviation from the mean and the small difference between mean and median. The data is bimodal with the modes situated around the centers. In this case, the mean should be used as an efficient measure of central tendency. 3.3 Descriptive Statistics Table 2: Summary of Descriptive Statistics Descriptive Statistics Maximum No. of Applicants (2003-2009) % Acceptance (2003-2009) Mean 155.53 55.30 Standard Error 2.818 1.135 Median 154.5 52.3 Mode 156 51.3 and 52.3 Standard Deviation 16.285 6.216 Sample Variance 0.0034 0.0034 Kurtosis 0.255 -2.148 Skewness 0.6416 1.0534 Range 9 23.3 Minimum 152 50.5 Maximum 161 73.8 Sum 4666 1659.1 Count 30 30 Confidence Level (95.0%) 6.56 5.81 30 law schools were chosen at random from the website of International Legal Research Group. The maximum number of applicants who sat for LSAT between 2003 and 2009, and the percentage of the applicants who got accepted to the law schools were recorded from the website. The objective of the descriptive statistics is how the two variables relate to one another with regard to the 30 schools. The mean maximum number of applicants who sat for LSAT between 2003 and 2009 were 155.53 with a standard deviation from the mean of 16.285 and the mean percentage of the students who sat for LSAT that got accepted to law schools recorded as 55.30 with a standard deviation from the mean of 6.216. The skewness and the kurtosis of the number of applicants who sat for LSAT indicate that they are located around the mean due to the positive values (Kurtosis = 0.255 and Skewness = 0.6416). The skewness and kurtosis for the number of applicants who got accepted to the law school indicate that they are not so much concentrated around the mean. 3.4 Observations from the Grouped Data Table 3: Grouped Data for Maximum Number of Students who Sat LSAT LSAT High Frequency 149-153 5 154-158 22 159-163 2 Table 4: Grouped Data for the Percentage Number of Students who got admitted % Accepted Frequency 50-54 18 55-59 7 60-64 2 65-69 1 70-74 1 75-79 1 The information from the grouped data for the number of applicants who sat for the LSAT implies that for the number of students who sat for the LSAT test the values are more concentrated in the middle while for the percentage number of students who actually got admitted are more concentrated on the higher values. 3.5 Relationship between Variables The construction of a scatter plot as demonstrated in Figure 1 indicates that there is no significant correlation between the dependent and the independent variable. The fact that a straight line cannot be drawn to relate the two connect the variable is an indication of lack of significant relationship. Therefore the null hypothesis will be adopted in favor of the alternative hypothesis. Figure 1: Scatter Plot The correlation coefficient as determined by excel calculations is r= 0.022, 0.000484 while the correlation coefficient is ≥ 6%. The general realization is that there is a very weak relationship between the two variables. The percentage implies that in only 6% of the instances was the number of applicants who sat for LSAT determined the number who actually got admitted to law school. 3.5.1 Regression Analysis Table 5 shows the excel results for ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) Table 5 ANOVA Source of Variation SS df MS F P-value F crit Between Groups 514.8548 29 17.75361 0.003517 1 1.847428 Within Groups 151438 30 5047.932 Total 151952.8 59         The relationship between the dependent and the independent variables were established to be as follows F (29, 30) = 0.003517 while p= 1. In essence, the number of applicants who get admitted to law schools have very little to do with the number of applicants who sit for the LSAT test. 4.0 Conclusion From the findings, it can be concluded that there is not significant relationship between the number of applicants who sit for LSAT and the ones who actually get admitted to law schools. In essence, the number of applicants who get admitted is perhaps determined by the number the performance of applicants in LSAT and the difficulty of the LSAT given by respective schools. Thomas Cooley Law schools could be giving applicants easier tests and the fact could be known by law firms that are consequently reluctant to join the law school due to reduced job opportunities. Few students are therefore not willing to apply in Thomas Cooley. On the other hand, St. Clara has the highest applicants and an average rate of acceptance. Therefore, if choosing a law school I would advise applicants to send their applications to St. Clara. Reference List International Legal Research Group. "2009 Raw Data Law Schools Rankings: Acceptance." 2010. International Legal Research Group. 20 2 2012 . Read More