By Karen Sloan

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Aspen Publishing has bought alternative law school admissions program JD-Next from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, the company said on Tuesday.

Aspen purchased the program, developed at the Arizona law school in 2019 as an alternative to the widely used Law School Admission Test, for an undisclosed amount. So far, 56 law schools—more than a quarter of all American Bar Association-accredited campuses—have received ABA permission to use JD-Next test scores when admitting students.

Aspen, which is best known for producing legal textbooks and study aids, has been operating JD-Next over the past year under a licensing deal it struck with Arizona’s law school in September 2023. JD-Next participants take an 8-week online course that culminates in an exam.

Separately, the ABA this month established a new pathway for law schools to admit some or all of their new students without using the LSAT, the GRE or other standardized test in order to give schools more admissions flexibility.

Arizona law officials developed JD-Next with a goal of increasing law student diversity by assessing an applicant’s law school aptitude without relying on standardized tests that produce racial score disparities, law dean Marc Miller has said. Law schools have been looking for ways to maintain the diversity of their classes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision barring the consideration of race in college admissions.

A 2019 study of the LSAT found the average score for Black test-takers was 142 out of a possible 180, compared with 153 for white and Asian test-takers. Experts attribute those disparities to inequitable schools and racial bias on standardized tests, among other factors.

Aspen said on Tuesday that "thousands" have completed the program in the past five years. Nearly 70% of participants identified themselves as being from underrepresented racial groups and 89% would be the first in their families to attend law schools, according to the company.

JD-Next is currently offered four times a year at a cost of $299 and is a small part of the law school admissions landscape, but Aspen said it plans to expand with more participants and law schools now that it owns the program.

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