LNAT

The LNAT or National Admissions Test for Law, is an admissions aptitude test that was adopted in 2004 by eight UK university law programs [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3451897.stm BBC NEWS | Education | New entry test for law students ] ] as an admissions requirement for home applicants. The test was established at the leading urgency of Oxford University as an answer to the problem facing universities trying to select from an increasingly competitive pool with similarly high A-levels. With effect from its second year the LNAT is required for UK and overseas applicants alike. There are now 10 participating law schools and hundreds of test centres worldwide.

Format

The test taker is allotted two hours to complete an essay and 30 multiple choice questions aimed at measuring reading comprehension and logical reasoning skills. The reading portion contains ten sets of between two and five questions based around a respective short reading passage. The questions typically ask for terms and arguments from the reading to be defined by inference. The essay lasts for 40 minutes and involves the candidate answering one of five available essay questions. The questions are open-ended topics typically about student related issues or other well familiar subject matter.

The reading section is scored out of 30 and the essays are individually marked by proctors at the respective universities.

Participating Law Programs

As of 2007, 10 Law departments use of LNAT.

*University of Birmingham
*University of Bristol
*University of Cambridge
*Durham University
*University of Exeter
*University of Glasgow
*King's College London
*University of Nottingham
*University of Oxford
*University College London [ [http://www.lnat.ac.uk/ No title ] ]
However, from 2009, the University of Cambridge will no longer use the LNAT. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7595909.stm Cambridge drops law entrance test]

The University of East Anglia and Manchester Metropolitan University used the LNAT in the past but have since stopped using it.

Results

The LNAT was first administered on November 3, 2004. The average score for the reading portion was 13.16 out of 24. A University of Bristol report on the scores expressed dissatisfaction with the ability of law candidates to develop "reasoned arguments" [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4230881.stm BBC NEWS | Education | Law candidates 'not good enough' ] ] Men and women score approximately equal to each other unlike the distribution of A grades in A-level law which women obtain at a higher percentage. However, though made by the media, this point is irrelevant because A-level law is not a requirement to do law at university.The consortium also reported statistically insignificant differences in scores between state and independent students.

Average Scores

The mean average score for 2006/2007 entrants was 16.8 out of 30 for the multiple choice element of the test.

Comparison to the LSAT

The LSAT, Law School Admissions Test, is a long-standing admissions aptitude test taken by American law school candidates. This American counterpart to the LNAT includes similar content such as reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and essay writing sections but in addition includes a logic games section. The LSAT formed the basis for the development of the LNAT and appears to have inspired the counter-intuitive reverse acronym.

References

External links

* [http://www.lnat.ac.uk The Official LNAT Website]
* [http://www.lnat.ac.uk/introduction/eligibility.html List of Universities and Courses requiring LNAT]
* [http://www.cataga.co.uk Company that sells an LNAT preparation eBook]
* [http://www.kaptest.co.uk Company that offers LNAT preparation courses]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3451897.stm BBC article on the introduction of the LNAT]
* [http://education.guardian.co.uk/universityaccess/story/0,10670,1137352,00.html Sample Lnat questions from the Guardian]