3/5/2026
Is the LSAT Getting Harder or Easier? Score Inflation, Accommodations, and the Post-Logic-Games Era
Everyone wants a clean answer.
"Is the LSAT easier now?"
Here's the truth: the LSAT got simpler on paper, but the scoreboard got more brutal.
So if you "feel" like you're doing everything right and the scores are not moving, it's not because you're crazy. It's because the environment changed.
Let's break it down.
1) The Test Got Simpler: One Section Got Deleted
Starting in August 2024, LSAC removed Logic Games and replaced it with a second Logical Reasoning section.
That matters because Logic Games was the most "learnable" section for a lot of people. Not because it was easy. Because it was systemizable.
People could grind setups, memorize patterns, and reliably improve.
Now you have:
- Two LR sections
- One RC section
Same overall score scale, different skill mix.
So, did the test get "harder" in the sense of content? Not necessarily.
But it got harder in this way:
There's less free money.
If you were counting on Games to carry you, that crutch is gone.
2) The Percentiles Got Meaner: More High Scores Exist
LSAC publishes percentile tables by testing year. That's important because it shows what score is "rare" vs "normal."
And independent admissions analysts have been flagging something obvious in the data: the top end of the score distribution has gotten crowded.
Spivey Consulting, for example, has noted large increases in counts of top scores in recent cycles (their early-cycle analysis specifically calls out big jumps in 165+ and 170+ bands).
You don't need to argue about why it happened to understand the consequence:
More people are showing up with monster numbers.
Which means if your goal is 165+, you're playing a different game than someone who took the test in 2018.
3) Accommodations Are a Force Multiplier (Whether People Like It or Not)
This topic makes people emotional. Ignore the emotions and look at incentives.
If you give someone more time, the test becomes easier to perform on. That's not a moral statement. That's physics.
LSAC's accommodations process is formalized through your LSAC JD Account, and requests require documentation that varies based on the situation.
So what changed?
A lot more people are pursuing accommodations, because:
- The upside is huge
- The downside is low
- The process is clearer than it used to be
LSAC even has dedicated pages walking you through how to request accommodations and what to submit.
Net effect: more test takers are competing in an ecosystem where a meaningful chunk of the pool has an advantage that translates directly to higher scores.
Again: not a moral claim. A performance claim.
4) "Harder" vs "Easier" Is the Wrong Question
Here's the better question:
Is it easier to prepare?
In many ways, yes.
With Games gone, there is less content diversity. LR and RC overlap more than Games ever did. That means your study time has more carryover.
But here's the catch:
Easier to prepare does not mean easier to win.
If everyone's training is more efficient, then the median competitor gets better too.
That's how you get score inflation: not because everyone is suddenly a genius, but because the pipeline gets optimized.
5) What This Means for Your Strategy
If you want a high score in 2026 and beyond, you cannot prep like it's 2019.
Here's the new rule set:
Stop hunting "sections," start hunting "mistakes"
If you miss questions, it's usually not because you "didn't know the question type."
It's because you didn't fully understand what you read.
Your job is to get so good at comprehension that wrong answers feel stupid.
LR matters more than ever
Two scored LR sections means LR is now the core of your score.
If you are inconsistent in LR, your whole score is inconsistent.
RC is the differentiator
LR is where people can train hard and compress the gap.
RC is where people separate, because it's harder to brute force and harder to fake.
If you want 170+, "good" is not good enough
When the top end is crowded, you need fewer unforced errors.
That means fewer "I was between two."
That phrase is a confession.
6) The Bottom Line
Did the LSAT get easier?
- Structurally: yes, fewer distinct sections to master.
- Competitively: no, because the pool got stronger and the top got crowded.
- In practice: it rewards deep reading and ruthless review more than ever.
If you want to win now, stop looking for hacks.
Build the skill.
And then go take what you came for.