All bar exam results from the July 2016 administration of the test have officially been released, and in California’s case, it seems that the absolute worst may have been saved for last. The results of the state’s exam were scheduled for mailing on Friday, and test-takers were able to see whether their names were on the pass list on Friday evening.

Save for a few states, bar passage rates have continued to decline nationwide, and many have been waiting to see if California’s passage rates for the July 2016 exam would tank as badly as they did in July 2015, which were the worst the state had seen in nearly three decades. If you thought last year was bad, just wait until you see this year’s results.

According to a press release from the State Bar of California, the overall pass rate for the July 2016 exam was 43 percent, while the pass rate for first-time takers was 56 percent. In July 2015, the overall pass rate was 46.6 percent, and the pass rate for first-time takers was 60 percent. Although California’s overall pass rate dropped by 3.6 percentage points, its examinees seemed to be more able than test-takers in other states. The state’s mean scaled MBE score was 1421 compared with the national average of 1403.

Perhaps that bright spot ought to be taken with a grain of salt, because this is the lowest overall pass rate California has seen for the July administration of the bar since results were released in the fall of 1986, when only 44.4 percent of all test-takers passed the exam. The state hasn’t seen an overall pass rate this low in 32 years. In fact, this passage rate is historically mediocre — it’s actually the third-lowest summer passage rate the state has seen since 1951, when the July passage rate was just 37.6 percent.

Year Overall Pass Rate July 2016 43 percent passed July 2015 46.6 percent passed July 2014 48.6 percent passed July 2013 55.8 percent passed July 2012 55.3 percent passed July 2011 54.8 percent passed July 2010 54.8 percent passed July 2009 56.4 percent passed July 2008 61.7 percent passed July 2007 56.1 percent passed July 2006 51.8 percent passed July 2005 48.8 percent passed July 2004 48.2 percent passed July 2003 49.4 percent passed July 2002 50.5 percent passed July 2001 56.9 percent passed July 2000 55.3 percent passed July 1999 51.2 percent passed July 1998 52.5 percent passed July 1997 62.9 percent passed July 1996 55.9 percent passed July 1995 59.4 percent passed July 1994 63.2 percent passed July 1993 59.0 percent passed July 1992 59.4 percent passed July 1991 54.9 percent passed July 1990 58.0 percent passed July 1989 59.5 percent passed July 1988 52.5 percent passed July 1987 50.3 percent passed July 1986 44.4 percent passed July 1985 45.4 percent passed July 1984 41.8 percent passed

Here are some additional statistics from this summer’s administration of the exam:

Once again, graduates of ABA-accredited law schools displayed an obvious advantage over their peers who attended California-accredited or unaccredited law schools. We’re eager to see the pass rates for individual law schools when that data is available.

Congratulations to everyone who was lucky enough to have passed the California bar exam. Fewer than half of your peers passed, so this is really quite the achievement.

STATE BAR ANNOUNCES RESULTS FOR JULY 2016 CALIFORNIA BAR EXAMINATION [State Bar of California]

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.