US law school admissions test ends online option over cheating concerns

By Karen Sloan

Feb 11 (Reuters) - The predominant exam used in the United States and internationally for U.S. law school admissions will no longer be offered online starting in August in a bid to bolster test security, its creator said on Wednesday.

The Law School Admission Test will be administered only at testing centers following the upcoming June exam, with exceptions for examinees with "limited" medical conditions and certain geographical hardships, the Law School Admission Council said in a blog post on its website.

"We currently use a wide range of security measures before, during, and after testing to deter and detect potential misconduct," the announcement said. "Moving to in-person testing will provide another important deterrent to anyone who tries to undermine the integrity of the test."

The move away from remote testing, which the council first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, comes amid escalating concerns over cheating. The council in August said it was suspending the online LSAT in mainland China after receiving reports of systemic cheating there.

A council spokesperson said test security is a "global priority" but declined to comment on Wednesday on whether it had evidence of cheating outside of China, saying the organization does not "discuss details of our test security work."

LSAT test prep providers have for months been calling for the end of the online option, warning that cheating in any jurisdiction undermines the integrity of the exam across the globe.

"I think it's a great move," said Dave Killoran, chief executive officer of LSAT prep company PowerScore. "By and large, taking people off the remote platform will really limit the ability of cheating agencies to steal the test, so this is a necessary step."

A Chinese student now studying at a Texas law school told Reuters in August that he warned the council about proliferating offers on Chinese language social media sites charging as much as $8,000 for help in cheating on the online LSAT.

In some cases, cheating rings hire groups to take standardized tests such as the LSAT and memorize exam questions, then compile and resell them to examinees, Steve Addicott, chief operating officer of testing security firm Caveon, said at the time.

Cheating rings also use hidden, high-definition cameras to photograph in-person and online exams, and can sometimes gain remote access to a test taker's computer and answer the questions for them, Addicott said.

The LSAT was exclusively given in person until the COVID-19 pandemic forced the exam to go online in 2020. In 2023, the council began offering test takers a choice between taking the exam remotely or in centers.

On the most recent January exam, 61% of LSAT takers opted for test centers while 39% were online, according to the council.

The move to in-person testing is also expected to reduce technical issues, as online LSAT takers accounted for the "majority" of exam score holds related to technological or proctoring issues, the council said.

Read more:

Cheating concerns shut down US law school admissions test in China

Remote testing for US law school exam fueled market for cheating in China

As in-person LSAT returns, most test-takers go remote