A bar too high? Pass rate plummets to record low for California lawyer exam

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Only a quarter of applicants passed the California bar exam in its most recent sitting, the State Bar of California announced this week, a record low for the test that lawyers must successfully complete to practice in the state.

The pass rate for the February exam sank to just 27.3 percent, about 7 percentage points lower than last year and the first time since 1986 that it has fallen below 30 percent. The previous low, according to a summary of results since 1951, came in the spring of 1983, when 27.7 percent of applicants passed.

In a statement Friday, executive director Leah T. Wilson said the State Bar recently launched an intervention program to "improve performance on the bar exam" and "better understand the downward trend of the bar exam pass rates." It is also preparing to complete a study about the needs of entry-level lawyers, in order to evaluate the exam standards.

Are less bright people going to law school? Or are rent-seeking California lawyers attempting to keep people out of their profession? Or both?