Do Law Schools Superscore or Average Multiple LSAT Attempts

How LSAC reports multiple LSAT scores

LSAC does not hide your test history from law schools. Every score report LSAC sends includes each reportable score from your current period along with your highest score, clearly marked. Admissions committees see the full pattern: how many times you tested, when, and what you scored each time.

This differs from how schools use that information. Most law schools state directly that they consider your highest LSAT score when making admissions decisions, largely because American Bar Association reporting rules (schools report only the highest score for enrolled students) and US News rankings create an incentive to admit on your best attempt, even though LSAC itself advises that averaging your scores is actually the better predictor of law school performance. A school reports its entering class's highest LSAT scores to the ABA and to US News, which gives most programs a direct incentive to admit based on your best attempt.

Score Preview and cancellation

LSAC's Score Preview service gives you 6 days after your score is released to decide whether to keep it or cancel it. Score Preview is open to every LSAT taker regardless of how many times you have tested before. If you cancel within that window, the score never gets added to your LSAC file and law schools never see it.

A cancelled score still counts as one of your attempts toward LSAC's 5 attempts per current reportable score period and 7 attempts per lifetime limits. Cancelling protects your visible record, not your attempt count. Because of that, treat Score Preview as a safety net for a bad testing day, not a way to test repeatedly without consequence.

What to disclose and how to think about a retake

You do not need to write an addendum explaining a lower score if your file only shows your highest score being used for admission, but many applicants add a short note anyway when a retake reflects a real change, such as recovering from illness on the first test date or completing a longer prep cycle before the second attempt. Check each target school's admissions FAQ page directly, since practice varies slightly and a small number of programs ask about your full history during interviews even when they admit on the highest score.

Before you register for another attempt, look at your practice test trend and your Score Preview eligibility together. If your practice scores sit meaningfully above your official score, a retake with Score Preview active limits your downside while giving you a shot at the higher number schools will use.