On Monday, August 18, the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) sponsorship organization, the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) decided to suspend online entrance exams in China due to cheating issues.
LSAC stated in a release, “We are increasingly concerned about the cheating behaviors of individuals and corporate organizations in mainland China. While exam security has always been a priority, the actions of these enterprises are becoming more brazen. Such activities are not limited to the LSAT, as these companies claim to provide cheating services for almost all standardized tests.”
The committee mentioned that they are actively cracking down on these illegal activities and using necessary legal means. The statement highlighted that LSAC has established monitoring processes to track abnormal score situations and continues to enhance exam security measures.
The statement expressed, “After careful consideration, we have decided to take additional measures following the upcoming October international LSAT exam, suspending online tests in mainland China. We will implement multiple measures to enhance exam security for the October LSAT. As we do not currently offer physical test centers in China, the October exam will be the last LSAT test in mainland China until further notice.”
The committee emphasized that this decision was not made lightly, and it is currently unclear if LSAT exams can be provided before January 2026. They sincerely apologize to the registered candidates. The statement mentioned, “We will continue to monitor and address this situation, continuously improve security measures, and utilize various means to ensure the fairness of LSAT exams in the United States and internationally.”
A spokesperson for the committee stated on the 18th that online exam services will continue to be provided in Hong Kong.
The international LSAT exam is held four times a year, with approximately 500 people participating in the exam in China last year.
Most law schools in the United States require LSAT or Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores when applying for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program. J.D. is the standard law degree required for practice in the United States. However, the Master of Laws (LL.M.) program does not require LSAT scores; it is a shorter-term degree that attracts thousands of foreign-trained lawyers globally each year.
The GRE exam is accepted by 120 law schools in the United States for J.D. program applications, alongside LSAT, and is still available in mainland China.
LSAT is an entrance qualification exam set by the Law School Admission Council for over 200 law schools, mostly in the United States and a few in Canada. Nearly all law schools require applicants to take the LSAT as an important criterion for evaluating applicants.
LSAT is a paper-and-pencil test that takes approximately half a day. It primarily assesses students’ abilities in reading comprehension, information integration and reasoning, critical thinking, as well as analyzing and evaluating others’ reasoning.
The exam is divided into three sections covering reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and analytical reasoning, with each section timed at 35 minutes. There is also a 35-minute writing test; while it does not contribute to the total score, it is sent to applying institutions along with the score report.
The LSAT exam has a total score of 180, with the lowest being 120, calculated based on the number of correct answers selected.