A Compendium of LSAT and LSAC-Sponsored Item Types - 1948-1994

Sep 2, 2026

A Compendium of LSAT and LSAC-Sponsored Item Types, 1948-1994, describes the item types appearing on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) from its first administration in February 1948 through 1994. The report includes information on General Background and Writing tests administered in an afternoon session with separate scores. Source materials include LSAT test books, test analysis reports, validity studies, and related LSAT documentation from testing service archives. The study outlines 21 operational and 7 experimental item types and provides an appendix example with an answer key.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages92

Reading Time3 h 52 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Purpose

How the LSAT Evolved

Summary of Item Type Information

Table 1- Item Type Codes and Changes

Table 2- Historical Facts Related to the LSAT Item Types in Chronological Order

Operational LSAT Item Types

Analytical Reasoning

Best Argument

Contrary and Irrelevant Statements

Data Interpretation

Debate

Directed Memory/Reading Recall

Figure Classification

Gottschaldt

Issues and Facts

Logical Reasoning

Opposites

Paragraphs/Paragraph Reading

Practical Judgment

Principles and Cases

Quantitative Comparison

Reading Comprehension

Reasoning

Sentence Completion

Usage

Verbal Analogies

Word Classification

Experimental Item Types

Artificial Language

Common Word

Deductive Reasoning from Artificial Signs

Induction

Insightful Reasoning

AUTHOR TITLE INSTITUTION REPORT NO PUB DATE NOTE PUB TYPE EDRS PRICE DESCRIPTORS IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT DOCUMENT RESUME Reese,Lynda M.;.Cotter,Ruth Anne A Compendium of LSAT and LSAC-Sponsored Item Types,1948-1994.LSAC Research Report Series. Law School Admission Council,Newtown,PA.LSAC-RR-94-011994-04-0091p. Reports -Research(143) EDRS Price MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. College Applicants;*College Entrance Examinations;HigherEducation;*Law Schools;Test Construction;*Test Items*Law School Admission Test This report provides a description of the item types thathave appeared on the Law School Admission Test(LSAT)from the firstadministration of the test in February 1948 through 1994.Also included isinformation related to the General Background and Writing tests that wereadministered for some time in an afternoon session,but for which separatescores were reported.Test books,test analysis reports,validity studies,research reports,LSAT Information Books,and LSAT Documentation in theEducationai Testing Service archives were used as source materials.Thereport begins with an overview of how the LSAT has evolved,and theninformation on each item type is presented at a more detailed level.Thereport describes 21 operational item types used over the years and 7experimental item types.An appendix contains an example of each item typewith an answer key.(Contains 2 tables and 23 references.)(SLD) | Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document. | | --- | ED 466242 TM034464 LSAC RESEARCH REPORT SERIES U.S.DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and ImprovementEDUZATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER(ERIC) PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ANDDISSEMINATE THS MATERIALHASBEEN GRANTED BY ☑This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it. J.VASELECK □ Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality. TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER(ERIC) ●Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy. A Compendium of LSAT andLSAC-Sponsored Item Types1948-1994 Lynda M.ReeseRuth Anne Cotter Law School Admission CouncilResearch Report 94-01April 1994 BESTCOPY AVAILABLE M The Law School Admission Council is a nonprofit association ofUnited States and Canadian law schools.Law School AdmissionServices administers the Council's programs and provides services tothe legal education community. LSATR and the Law Services logo are registered by Law SchoolAdmission Services,Inc.Law School Forum is a service mark of LawSchool Admission Services,Inc.The Official LSAT PrepTest,TheOfficial LSAT PrepKit,and The Official LSAT TriplePrep aretrademarks of Law School Admission Services,Inc. CopyrightC 1994 by Law School Admission Services,Inc. All rights reserved.This book may not be reproduced or transmitted,in whole or in part,by any means,electronic or mechanical,includingphotocopying,recording,or by any information storage and retrievalsystem,without permission of the publisher.For information,write:Publications,Law School Admission Services,Box 40,661 PennStreet,Newtown,PA 18940. This study is published and distributed by the Law School AdmissionCouncil(LSAC)and Law School Admission Services (LSAS).Theopinions and conclusions contained in this report are those of theauthor and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy ofLSAC/LSAS. i INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 Purpose………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 How the LSAT Evolved ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………1 SUMMARY OF ITEM TYPE INFORMATION ……………………………………………………………………………………………3 Table 1- Item Type Codes and Changes ………………………………………………………………………………………………………3 Table 2- Historical Facts Related to the LSAT Item Types in Chronological Order………………………6 Operational LSAT Item Types ………

FAQs

What period does the report cover for LSAT item types?

It covers item types on the LSAT from the first administration in February 1948 through 1994.

What additional test formats are discussed besides operational LSAT item types?

The report also includes information related to the General Background and Writing tests, which were administered for some time in an afternoon session with separate scores.

How are operational and experimental item types organized in the report?

The report presents 21 operational item types and 7 experimental item types, with an appendix that provides an example of each item type and an answer key.

Sep 2, 2026

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