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

[E.J. Zufelt]

Good evening,

 From my perspective the LSAT was very annoying.  And more annoying  
for me as a blind test taker than for my sighted peers.  However, I  
was fortunate in that LSAC provided me all of the accommodations I  
requested.

After completing the LSAT I was accepted into a Canadian law school  
which accepts 1 of every 10 applicants and received a large academic  
entrance scholarship and was in the running for one of three fully  
funded scholarships.  This was after completing only 3 years of my 4  
year undergraduate degree.

Perhaps Canadian law schools have less rigid entrance requirements.   
However, from my limited perspective there was little inconvenience or  
disadvantage in taking the LSAT.

HTH,
Everett

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On 20-May-09, at 8:50 PM, Stephanie Enyart wrote:

> 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.
>
>
>
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