The August LSAT is online, so is this the new normal?

Yesterday the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) announced that the August LSAT (temporarily called “LSAT-Flex”) would be held exclusively online. This makes five consecutive LSATs that have been cancelled, four of which were moved online.

This is the correct decision, as colleges are confronting the dangers of COVID-19 by limiting large student assemblies (like in-person LSAT administrations). LSAC will have to put at least the next two LSATs online, but given the uncertainty over conditions in the winter, it seems very likely that there will be no in-person LSATs during the 2020-21 academic year.

LSAC insists that the LSAT-Flex is being effectively administered, and also taking measures to ensure that all candidates have a quiet place to take the exam. Given the work now being done on making LSAT-Flex a quality product, it might be time to drop the suffix from the name. The LSAT-Flex is the LSAT, this year–and maybe for many years to come.