LSAT and LSAT Prep Changes Since ScoreItUp’s Inception (17 Years Ago!)

I recently updated the photos on ScoreItUp’s website, which reminded me of many of the changes to the LSAT over the last few years. Of course, there have been even more changes to the LSAT – and the LSAT Prep industry – since I first opened the doors to ScoreItUp LSAT Prep over 17 years ago. So, if you’d like to take a trip down memory lane with me, here is a list of the “top 10” most significant changes I have seen since that time:

1. “Live Online” LSAT Prep Courses: The biggest change to the LSAT Prep industry has been “live online” courses. While some companies offered them years ago, they were not popular. Students took “in person” (classroom) courses or pre-recorded video courses. I still remember the week Covid forced the closure of classroom courses. I figured I’d have to shut down ScoreItUp indefinitely…until one of my students said “have you heard of Zoom”? ScoreItUp students made a seamless transition to a “live online” format on Zoom within one week, and ScoreItUp’s “live online” courses remain extremely popular. Today, my ScoreItUp courses are offered “live online” (worldwide), “in person” (Orange County, CA) or in a self-paced “online video” format.
2. Eight Official LSAT Offerings Per Year: The LSAT used to be offered only four times per year (February, June, September/October and December). Today, the official LSAT is offered eight times a year (January, February, April, June, August, September, October and November). My ScoreItUp live course offerings (“live online” and “in person”) similarly have shifted from four courses per year to courses offered year-round to prepare students for each of these eight LSATs.
3. No More Logic Games: For decades, Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) was one section of the LSAT, and it was the section most often discussed and focused on in LSAT Prep courses. The Logic Games section was eliminated last year, allowing us to focus more heavily on the all-important Logical Reasoning section.
4. Six LSAT Sections Reduced to Four: The official LSAT used to consist of six sections – two Logical Reasoning sections, one Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) section, one Reading Comprehension section, one ungraded “experimental” section, and one ungraded “Writing Sample.” The exam went through a couple of twists and turns during the Covid years but now appears to have settled into its new format, at least for a while: a total of four sections – two Logical Reasoning sections, one Reading Comprehension section, and one ungraded “experimental” section. The ungraded “Writing Sample” changed slightly, has a new name (“Argumentative Writing”) and is now administered separately…but it remains an opportunity for prelaw students to demonstrate their persuasive writing skills in response to a hypothetical problem.
5. LSAC Is More Lenient In Granting Time Accommodations: LSAC has always granted various accommodations, including extra time, to students with certain disabilities (including ADHD, etc.). However, there has been a noticeable shift in the leniency with which students have been granted those accommodations from LSAC recently. As a result, far more students taking the LSAT are granted 1.5 or two times the normal allotted time of 35 minutes per section. Because the LSAT is graded using a process called “equating” (similar to a “curve”), these LSAC policy changes have been controversial – but they appear to be here to stay.
6. Admission Counseling and Personal Statement Assistance: I began offering ScoreItUp students advice on their personal statements and law school applications during my very first LSAT Prep course. While it was a novel idea at the time, the corporate test prep companies got wind of the idea, and admissions counseling is now commonly offered by LSAT Prep companies. You can see my free and fee-based ScoreItUp Personal Statement packages here.
7. Digital LSAT exams: When I first started teaching LSAT Prep, the exam was offered only as a pencil-and-paper exam. I remember handing out a series of “books of 10” LSATs at the beginning of each ScoreItUp course – students used those prior exam books in class and for practice material. Those LSAT exam books still exist, but the official exam and practice materials (prior LSAT exams) are now primarily offered in a digital format.
8. Renumbering and Modification of LSAT Practice Exams: After the Logic Games section was eliminated and the LSAT format changed slightly, LSAC modified and renumbered their practice exams. As a result, the published practice exams no longer have the Logic Games section and include an “extra” Logical Reasoning or Reading Comp section that can be treated as an “experimental” section to better simulate the current version of the LSAT. I used to have to do this manually for students, so I appreciate LSAC making that change!
9. Different Length ScoreItUp Courses: When I first began teaching my ScoreItUp LSAT Prep classes, students only had the opportunity to take one sized LSAT Prep course. Now, ScoreItUp students can choose courses ranging from 6-8 weeks to 6-8 months…including single, double, triple or GO BIG courses depending upon a student’s needs, schedule and budget.
10. Companies Tearing Down ScoreItUp Flyers: Certain corporate test prep companies were not pleased when ScoreItUp entered the LSAT Prep market. After all, ScoreItUp was now offering prelaw students an alternative from corporate LSAT Prep courses taught by instructors who typically had (1) no law school education, (2) no formal training in the “legal reasoning skills” underlying the LSAT, (3) no experience teaching law courses, and (4) no experience teaching college students. ScoreItUp prioritized the importance of a student’s LSAT Prep instructor…AND offered LSAT Prep students significantly more course hours and a much better price. As a result, for years a large corporate test prep company routinely tore down my ScoreItUp flyers on UCI’s campus (where I began teaching ScoreItUp LSAT Prep courses)…until I finally caught them red-handed in the act. (Yes, that one remains personal, as you can tell!) The significant differences between ScoreItUp and the typical corporate test prep companies still remain…but my flyers on UCI’s campus no longer get torn down!