This calculator helps you estimate your LSAT scaled score based on the number of correct answers (Raw Score).
Your estimated LSAT Scaled Score: —
Understanding the LSAT Score Calculation
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a crucial exam for aspiring law students. Your performance on the LSAT is measured by a scaled score, which ranges from 120 to 180. This scaled score is derived from your raw score, which is simply the total number of questions you answered correctly across the scored sections of the test.
How Raw Scores Become Scaled Scores
The LSAT scoring system is designed to account for variations in test difficulty across different test administrations. While LSAC (Law School Admission Council) does not publicly release the exact conversion tables for each test, the general principle involves a process called "equating."
Raw Score: This is the most straightforward measure of your performance – the total count of questions you answered correctly. The LSAT typically has multiple choice sections, and your raw score is the sum of correct answers on these sections. Note that experimental or unscored sections do not count towards your raw score.
Scaling: The LSAT is administered multiple times a year, and each test form may have slightly different levels of difficulty. To ensure fairness and consistency, LSAC uses statistical methods to equate the raw scores to a scaled score. This means that a specific raw score might correspond to a slightly different scaled score depending on how other test-takers performed on that particular test administration and the perceived difficulty of the questions.
Equating Factors: The equating process aims to make scores comparable across different test forms. A raw score that might be very high on a difficult test form could yield the same scaled score as a slightly lower raw score on an easier test form.
The Role of Logic Games (LG): Historically, the LSAT included a Logic Games section that was scored. However, starting with the August 2024 LSAT, the Logic Games section will no longer be scored. This calculator reflects the current scoring structure where only Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension sections contribute to the scored raw score. You will need to input the total number of questions excluding the (now unscored) Logic Games section.
LSAT Scoring Formula (Estimation)
Since the exact conversion is proprietary and varies by test, the formula used in this calculator is an approximation based on common LSAT scoring patterns and publicly available data for past tests. It aims to provide a reasonable estimate.
A common approximation for the scaling formula is:
However, this linear conversion is an oversimplification. The actual scaling is non-linear and takes into account item response theory (IRT) and other statistical adjustments. This calculator uses a simplified approximation that assumes approximately 96 scored questions (96% of the 100 scored questions on a typical test, accounting for slight variations and potential experimental questions). LSAC aims to ensure that the average raw score for a scaled score of 152 is around 53-54 correct answers.
Important Note: This calculator provides an ESTIMATE. For precise scoring, always refer to your official LSAT score report from LSAC. The actual conversion can vary.
When to Use This Calculator
This tool is useful for:
Practice Test Analysis: After completing a practice LSAT, you can input your raw score to get an idea of your potential scaled score.
Understanding Score Ranges: It helps you gauge how many questions you need to get right to aim for specific score ranges (e.g., aiming for a 165+).
Motivation and Goal Setting: Seeing the potential scaled score can be motivating and help you set realistic study goals.
Remember to focus on understanding the concepts and improving your accuracy and timing across all sections rather than solely focusing on the raw number of correct answers. Good luck with your LSAT preparation!
function calculateLsatScore() {
var correctAnswersInput = document.getElementById("correctAnswers");
var totalQuestionsInput = document.getElementById("totalQuestions");
var scaledScoreDisplay = document.getElementById("scaledScore");
var correctAnswers = parseInt(correctAnswersInput.value);
var totalQuestions = parseInt(totalQuestionsInput.value);
// Input validation
if (isNaN(correctAnswers) || correctAnswers < 0) {
alert("Please enter a valid number for correct answers.");
scaledScoreDisplay.textContent = "–";
return;
}
if (isNaN(totalQuestions) || totalQuestions totalQuestions) {
alert("Number of correct answers cannot exceed total questions.");
scaledScoreDisplay.textContent = "–";
return;
}
// Simplified estimation formula based on common patterns and LSAC's goal
// This formula aims to approximate the typical scaling where 120 is the minimum
// and 180 is the maximum, with the midpoint (around 150-152) often correlating
// to roughly half the scored questions correct.
// The maximum raw score for scaling purposes is generally considered around 96-101 questions.
// We'll use 96 as a common baseline for the 'maximum possible raw score' in this approximation.
var maxPossibleRawScore = 96; // Approximation of the total number of scored questions typically used for scaling
// Ensure the raw score doesn't exceed the estimated maximum for scaling calculation
var clampedCorrectAnswers = Math.min(correctAnswers, maxPossibleRawScore);
var scaledScoreEstimate;
if (totalQuestions === 0) { // Avoid division by zero if somehow totalQuestions is 0 after validation
scaledScoreEstimate = 120; // Minimum score if no questions
} else {
// This is a simplified linear interpolation. Real LSAT scaling is more complex (non-linear, IRT-based).
// The goal is to map 'clampedCorrectAnswers' from a range of 0 to 'maxPossibleRawScore'
// onto the LSAT scaled score range of 120 to 180.
var proportionCorrect = clampedCorrectAnswers / maxPossibleRawScore;
scaledScoreEstimate = 120 + (proportionCorrect * (180 – 120));
}
// Ensure the score is within the 120-180 range
scaledScoreEstimate = Math.max(120, Math.min(180, scaledScoreEstimate));
// Round to the nearest whole number for the display
scaledScoreDisplay.textContent = Math.round(scaledScoreEstimate);
}