Admission decision makers who face the difficult task of admitting only a fraction of their applicant pools necessarily search through files to find factors that will tip the scales. This is particularly true once the bulk of decisions have been made and the remaining files are those for which there may be no truly distinguishing factors in the files, and no clear right or wrong decision. At this point, it may be tempting to place great significance on LSAT score differences of one or two points. Such reliance is misplaced. The bands are meant to be a visual reminder that LSAT scores, like all test scores, have measurement error associated with them, and to encourage score users not to place undue weight on differences that have very little statistical meaning.
Some LSAT forms are easier than others.
Data from these pretests allow LSAC to 'equate' each LSAT form. Equating is a statistical process through which the very slight differences in difficulty across LSAT forms can be mitigated, thus allowing direct comparison of results from different tests. Therefore, a December 1998 LSAT score of 150 means the same thing as a 150 from the October 1995 administration, or from any administration since June 1991. The LSAT is graded to a curve, so your score can be influenced by the other test takers with whom you test. Some candidates mistakenly believe that they will be graded on the LSAT in relation to others who take the test with them.