[blindlaw] WHAT'S THE SCORE: THE LSAT AND THE BLIND, Michigan Bar Journal

[Stephanie Enyart]

Given the dialogue on this issue, I thought some may be interested in
reading more.
~Stephanie 

Michigan Bar Journal
January, 2001
 
*46 WHAT'S THE SCORE: THE LSAT AND THE BLIND
Naseem Stecker [FNa1]

Copyright C  2001 by State Bar of Michigan; Naseem Stecker

  It takes perseverance, tenacity, energy, and financial resources to battle
the status quo. For Farmington Hills lawyer Richard Bernstein, adversity
also features prominently in this scenario. Blind since birth, he found it
difficult to get into a good law school without taking the mandatory Law
school Admission Test (LSAT), which he says puts blind applicants at a
distinct disadvantage.

  "It used to be that law schools would waive the LSAT for the blind, but
this is no longer the case. I had to fight very hard to get it done,"
Bernstein said. "It was a significant battle and I almost did not go to law
school because of the LSAT. I don't know how many disabled people are
affected. So many are intimidated by the process that they don't even bother
to take the first step."

  A 1999 graduate of Northwestern University's law school, he was granted a
waiver from the LSAT based on his academic record, extracurricular
activities, and strong recommendations. Described as an "exceptional and
extraordinary student" Bernstein, who now devotes 50 percent of his practice
to pro bono cases, is an impassioned advocate for his beliefs. He has
appeared on a CBS news show in Detroit to describe his struggle.

  "Everyone has adversity in their lives--adversity is a tremendous thing.
It's a blessing that teaches you to look at a situation from another
person's shoes," he said.

  In this spirit, Bernstein is proposing that schools make the LSAT testing
optional rather than mandatory for legally blind students. He maintains that
many visually impaired students are under the impression that there is no
option other than taking the LSAT. Law school applications in fact require
that students complete the LSAT for their applications to be processed. But
Bernstein warns that the decision to complete the LSAT can be damaging to
blind students' law school prospects, even if appropriate test-taking
accommodations are granted.

  "There are lots of people like myself who are unable to complete the LSAT.
They can't perform and do logic games that require charts and diagrams and
graphs," he said. "If we keep going in this direction, we'll have a
situation in which our lawyers are determined by LSAT scores. It's a
ridiculous system and we need to re-examine it."

  The Law School Admission Test is a standardized test and is administered
by the Law School Admissions Council--a nonprofit corporation *47 whose
members are 197 law schools in the United States and Canada. The test is
made up of four 45-minute multiple choice sections (one reading
comprehension section, one analytical reasoning section and two logical
reasoning sections) as well as one 30-minute writing sample. The aim is to
measure skills that are considered essential to a successful legal
education. These include the ability to read and comprehend complex text,
managing and organizing information, and processing information to reach
conclusions. The score scale for the LSAT is 120 to 180. Typically, the LSAT
score is combined with the undergraduate GPA in a calculation designed to
measure the student's ability to succeed. Each school tends to use the LSAT
and GPA information differently.

  Joan Van Tol, corporate counsel for the Law School Admissions Council,
said the LSAC "provides access to people who have documented the existence
of a disability that substantially limits them from taking the LSAT under
standard conditions." LSAC figures show that during the last test year (June
1999- February 2000) 155 people claiming visual impairment requested
accommodated testing. During the previous year there were 157 requests.
Depending on the nature of the disability, the LSAC provides accommodations
that include Braille, audiocassettes, the use of a reader, a wheel-chair
accessible test center, extra rest time, and additional testing time. For
students who require extra time, the LSAC also sends a statement with their
report advising the relevant law school to interpret the score with
sensitivity and flexibility.

  Nancy Marshall, information officer for the University of Michigan Law
School, said accreditation standards require law schools to test all
applicants and if the LSAT is not used, the school must establish that it is
using an acceptable alternative.

  "Yes, the students grade point average is important up to a point, however
we do have students who are not in the top numbers because we also look at
their extracurricular and employment history," she said. "We also place a
great deal of emphasis on the applicant's personal statement and letters of
recommendation."

  One of the top law schools in the nation, the University of Michigan has
10 applications for every slot available. The law school admissions policy
has been attacked by two class action suits challenging the university's use
of race in the admissions process. Marshall points out that it is precisely
the university's policy of looking at the total picture that is the issue in
the case. "We look very carefully at all pieces of the application. Other
things being equal, a disability would enhance someone's chances of getting
in."

  John Meixner, a philosophy professor at Central Michigan University who
advises pre-law students, said the LSAT tends to be a good predictor of how
students do in the first year of law school. However, "there are plenty of
exceptions and individual law schools realize that. I don't think a poor
LSAT score would necessarily rule out students' chances of getting into a
good law school."

  Like many other schools, Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois,
where Bernstein attended law school, considers the LSAT a very necessary
requirement, although the school also takes into account oral and written
communication skills, extra curricular activities, leadership, and work
experience as well as career goals.

  "There isn't a set policy for blind applicants," said Mary Beth Busby,
Director of Admissions since 1996. However, since it's a private institution
with a smaller entering class, the university can review things case by
case.

  "We are one of the very few universities in this country that conducts a
unique interviewing program as part of the applications process. This allows
us to find out about other aspects of the students background beyond the
LSAT and the GPA," she said. Busby added that it's rare to get a blind
applicant and that she has not come across one in the last three years.

  Northwestern University Professor Steven Lubet, who is a specialist in
legal ethics said that under appropriate circumstances, schools should
continue to waive the LSAT requirement for blind students. In his opinion,
it is "impossible to use the test in a way that would give you an accurate
assessment of a blind students' capabilities and it is not a particularly
useful tool for measuring people." According to Lubet, while the LSAT tests
a student's literate facility with language it cannot measure tenacity,
diligence, creativity, open-mindedness, curiosity, empathy, and
intelligence--all qualities essential for a good lawyer.

  Lubet's view is that optional testing as advocated by Bernstein is not
something that is going to happen soon because of the influential rankings
of law schools by U.S. News and World Report. "A prime criterion in these
rankings is the median LSAT score. So the first law school to stop the LSAT
would be committing rankings suicide. I'm not saying that's good but it is
an undeniable reality."

[FNa1]. Naseem Stecker is a staff writer for the Michigan Bar Journal.