A raw score on the LSAT is the total number of questions you answer correctly across the scored sections. The raw score is a simple count with no penalty for wrong answers. LSAC then converts that raw total into the scaled 120 to 180 score that law schools see, so the raw number itself never appears on your report.
By Ali Unar, Founder, Lovare Institut; JD/MSFS Candidate, Georgetown University. Last updated August 2026. Every figure on this page was verified in August 2026 against the sources listed below.
Your LSAT raw score counts one point for every question you answer correctly in the scored sections and nothing for questions you miss or leave blank. Because there is no deduction for wrong answers, filling in an answer for every question can only help your raw total. The unscored variable section does not count toward your raw score, even though it looks identical to the scored sections during the test.
Your raw score matters only as the input to your scaled 120 to 180 score, which is the number law schools and the ABA 509 reports actually use. Two applicants with the same raw score on different forms can end up with the same scaled score after LSAC equates the tests. So the raw count shapes your outcome, but schools never see it directly and never compare applicants on raw totals.
A common misconception is that the LSAT deducts points for wrong answers like some other exams; it does not, so guessing is always worth it. Another is that a fixed number of correct answers guarantees a set scaled score, when in fact the conversion shifts by form. People also assume the raw score appears on their report, but only the scaled score and percentile are shown.
A good LSAT score is one that meets or exceeds the median at your target law schools, measured on the 120 to 180 scale. There is no single magic number; the useful benchmark is each school's published median. Compare your score against your target schools' published 25th-50th-75th percentile figures to judge it.
The average LSAT score across all test-takers lands in the low 150s, near the center of the 120 to 180 range, and it varies slightly by testing year. Because the mean and median are close, the low 150s also mark the rough midpoint of scorers. See the low-to-mid 150s (LSAC does not publish a single headline average; the median falls near 152 on the percentile tables) for the latest number.
The LSAT is scored by counting your correct answers into a raw score, then converting that raw score to a scaled 120 to 180 result using the conversion table for your form. No points are lost for wrong answers. Since August 2024 the exam has two scored Logical Reasoning sections, one Reading Comprehension section, and one unscored variable section.
Verified August 2026.
September 20, 2026
September 20, 2026