You just finished a practice test. Your eyes are blurry, your neck hurts, and all you want to know is that three-digit number between 120 and 180. You count up the bubbles. You got 68 questions right out of 75. In any normal college class, that’s a 90%—a solid A-minus. But in the world of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), that 68 could be a 170 one day and a 167 the next. It’s frustrating. It feels like the goalposts are moving because, honestly, they kind of are.
The raw score conversion LSAT process is the "black box" of law school admissions. Most students obsess over learning logic games (well, before they were removed) or mastering logical reasoning, yet they don't actually understand how their raw points turn into the scaled score that determines their future. It isn't a simple percentage. It’s a complex statistical adjustment called equating.
If you're staring at a conversion table wondering why your "missed" count doesn't match your friend's score from last year, you aren't crazy. The LSAT is designed so that a 165 in 2024 means the exact same thing as a 165 in 2026, even if one test was objectively harder. Here is how that sausage actually gets made.
The Myth of the "Curve"
People always say the LSAT is graded on a curve. That’s technically wrong. A traditional curve means you are competing against the people sitting in the room with you on test day. If everyone in the room does poorly, you benefit. That’s not how LSAC operates.
Instead, they use a pre-set conversion scale. The raw score conversion LSAT scale is determined before you even pick up your No. 2 pencil (or, these days, before you click "start" on your remote proctored exam). They use experimental sections from previous years to gauge the difficulty of every single question. By the time a question makes it into a scored section, LSAC already knows exactly how hard it is.
If a particular test form is filled with "five-star" difficulty LR questions, the scale will be more "loose." You can miss more questions and still hit a high score. If the test is "easy," the scale is "tight." One mistake could knock you down two whole points. It’s a balancing act that ensures a 170 isn't easier to get in June than it is in October.
Breaking Down the Math of a Raw Score
Let’s look at the actual numbers. Since the LSAT transitioned to the new format in August 2024—removing the Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) section—the total number of scored questions usually hovers around 75 or 76.
Imagine you’re taking a test with 75 scored questions.
To hit a 170, you typically need a raw score of about 67 or 68. That means you only have a cushion of about 7 or 8 questions across the entire exam.
If you’re aiming for a 160, your raw score target is usually around 53 to 55.
Basically, the "tightness" of the scale happens at the top. Between a 170 and a 180, every single question is a landmine. In the middle of the pack—around the 150 mark—the scale is more forgiving. You can miss a few more questions without your scaled score plummeting. This is because the LSAT is a bell curve. Most test-takers score in the 150s, so the test is designed to differentiate very precisely between the high-achievers at the tail end of the distribution.
The Impact of Removing Logic Games
The removal of Logic Games was the biggest shake-up in decades. For years, students used Games as their "safety net" because it was the easiest section to perfect. You get a -0 on Games, and suddenly your raw score conversion LSAT looks amazing.
Now, with two scored Logical Reasoning sections and one Reading Comprehension section, the margin for error has shifted. LR now accounts for roughly 66% of your score. If you have a "bad" LR day, there is no Games section to bail you out. We are seeing scales that feel a bit more punishing to those who haven't mastered the nuances of Flaw or Necessary Assumption questions.
Why You Can't Trust One Conversion Table
If you go on Reddit or various prep forums, you’ll find "leaked" or "estimated" conversion tables. Be careful. Every test administration has its own unique fingerprint.
For instance, look at the historical data from the old PrepTests (PTs).
On PT 88—notoriously one of the hardest exams ever released—you could miss 11 or 12 questions and still bag a 170.
On PT 92, which felt a bit more "standard," missing 9 questions might have dropped you to a 169.
This variability is why you shouldn't get too depressed if your raw score drops on a hard practice test. If the test was a monster, the conversion table would have saved you. Conversely, if you felt like you "crushed" an easy test but your score stayed flat, it’s probably because the scale was unforgiving.
Understanding the "Tight" vs. "Loose" Scale
What makes a scale "loose"? Usually, it's a few high-difficulty Reading Comp passages. If there is a passage about 19th-century judicial review or complex quantum physics that slows everyone down, LSAC compensates by widening the raw score brackets.
A "tight" scale is a nightmare for high scorers. This happens when the questions are straightforward. If the LR sections don't have those "trap" answers that lure in the 160-level students, then everyone gets more questions right. To keep the 170 score prestigious and rare (only about 2-3% of test-takers), LSAC has to make the conversion more "expensive." On a tight scale, missing just one extra question can be the difference between Harvard and a school outside the T14.
Real-World Example: The 165 Plateau
A lot of students hit a wall at 165. Why? Look at the raw score.
To get a 165, you usually need about 60-62 points.
To jump from a 165 to a 170, you need about 6-7 more correct answers.
That sounds easy, right? It isn't. Those 6 or 7 questions are the "level 5" difficulty questions specifically designed to trick people who understand the basics but haven't mastered the formal logic or the subtle shifts in language that LSAC loves.
The raw score conversion LSAT for the 165-170 jump is where most dreams go to die. It requires moving from "understanding the test" to "predicting the test makers."
Strategies to Manage the Conversion Uncertainty
Since you can't control the scale, you have to control your "floor." Your floor is the minimum raw score you get on your absolute worst day.
First, stop counting how many you got right and start looking at where you are losing points. If you are consistently missing the last five questions of an LR section, you don't have a "logic" problem; you have a "pacing" problem. Because the raw score conversion treats an easy question and a hard question exactly the same (1 point each), rushing through the first 15 questions to get to the hard ones is often a losing strategy.
Accuracy on the first 15 questions is the most reliable way to protect your raw score. If you go 15/15 on the easy stuff, you’ve built a cushion. If you rush and miss 3 easy ones just to have time to struggle with a "parallel flaw" question at the end, you're lighting points on fire.
Second, embrace the variance. When you take a practice test, look at a range of conversion tables. Don't just look at the one provided by your software. Ask yourself: "If this was a hard test, what would I get? If this was an easy test, what would I get?" This prepares you mentally for the "tight" scale on test day.
Nuance Matters: The "Experimental" Factor
Don't forget the four-section structure. You have three scored sections and one unscored experimental section. You won't know which is which while you're taking it.
I’ve seen students spiral because they felt they bombed the second section. They give up mentally. Then it turns out the second section was the experimental one, and they actually ruined their raw score on the third section because they were distracted.
The raw score conversion LSAT only cares about the "real" sections. Treat every section like it's the one that determines your career.
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The Takeaway for Your Study Plan
The LSAT isn't just a test of logic; it's a test of statistical consistency. The raw score conversion LSAT exists to protect the integrity of the exam, but it can be your best friend or your worst enemy.
To win, you need to stop thinking about percentages. A 75% on the LSAT is a catastrophic failure for a top law school. A 90% is a ticket to the big leagues.
Actionable Steps for Score Improvement
- Analyze your "Missed" Profile: Are your misses clumped at the end of sections or scattered throughout? Clumped means pacing; scattered means foundational gaps.
- Ignore the Score, Track the Raw: For one week, don't look at your 120-180 score. Only track your raw points. Try to increase that number by just 2 points.
- Focus on LR "Early" Accuracy: Ensure you are 100% accurate on the first 10 questions of every LR section. These are your "free" raw score points that build your base.
- Simulate "Tight" Scales: When reviewing your PTs, assume the most punishing scale possible. If you still hit your target score on a tight scale, you’re ready for test day.
- Master Reading Comp Structure: Since RC is now a bigger chunk of your raw score, you can't afford to "skim." Focus on the author's tone and the functional role of each paragraph rather than just the facts.
The journey to a high LSAT score is essentially a quest for raw points in a world where the currency value fluctuates. Understand the scale, but don't let it hunt you. Just get the points. The conversion will take care of itself.