Law School’s Grading System: Explained
Unlike some other graduate programs, in law school your grades are extremely important. When applying for summer jobs and articling positions, law firms look at your transcript and strong grades are very important in obtaining the limited jobs available. As many of you can expect, law school is difficult, but what you might not know is it is not too difficult to obtain grades that are average in comparison to your peers. Rather, it’s tough to rise above the average.
Did you know that almost all courses in law schools across Ontario are marked to a B curve? I didn’t know this before beginning law school, so I’m assuming that I am not the only one. I’m going to break it down for you so that you can be slightly more prepared than I was when entering law school in the fall.
In law school, all of your courses will be marked comparatively to your classmates. This means that if all your classmates happen to perform really poorly on an assignment, but you produce work that is satisfactory, then you receive a high grade and your classmates will be in the average. This is because we are graded comparatively to each other. Most classes are graded to a B average (between 74–76%), although, at Western Law second and third year courses that have only 25 students or less enrolled are marked to a B+ average (between 77–79%). I am unsure whether other law schools in Ontario have a similar grading scheme for small class sizes.
The grade distributions even out to a bell curve, such that the majority of students will receive B grades, while fewer students will fall on the upper and lower ends of the bell curve by obtaining grades like a C+ or A-, for example. However, the bulk of the grades will be between a B- and a B+, with the majority obtaining a B grade.
There is a great deal of comfort in this system, especially for first year students, because it eliminates a great deal of the stress of failing or doing really poorly on exams and assignments. (However, it is important to note that failing and getting poor grades is still possible and the reality for some students). Rather, it is more likely that you will fall within the B range in most of your classes.
What becomes stressful is striving to rise about the bell curve and aim for a B+ or A range grade. Students that can achieve these grades will stand out from their peers and have a better chance of obtaining a summer or articling job at a top law firm.
Rising above the curve requires students to perform better than the bulk of the students in the class. Professors at Western Law explained to me this past year that rising above the curve often requires incorporating a higher degree of detailed analysis and comparison of the jurisprudence with the fact pattern you’re given on an exam. They explained that often students focused too much on stating the law as it relates to the fact pattern, and don’t put enough focus on comparing the facts of the precedent cases with the facts on the exam.
However, each professor has different criteria in what they look for, so I highly recommend speaking with each of your professors before your assignments and exams, to understand what exactly they are looking for when assigning those higher grades.
