Completing Amplifire increases bar exam scores by 13 points.
Most studies of test-prep programs suffer from selection issues because students often choose only one test-prep solution. These studies also struggle with the issue of correlation versus causation; a student who chooses to do more voluntary test-prep might score better simply because they are a better student—not because the test-prep program itself was of any value.
A 2017 study evaluated the effect of Amplifire on simulated bar exam scores, but avoided these two problems by comparing performance across exam topics within each learner. Topics on which a student used Amplifire were compared to topics on which that same student didn’t. This study thus controlled for most third-variable issues that undermine causality (e.g., student ability, motivation, study habits).
The study found that students’ relative scores increased on topics for which they relied on Amplifire. The increase, extended to all topics covered on the bar exam, results in a net gain of 13 points due exclusively to Amplifire.
The Story
A global legal educator needed a differentiated online learning solution that would help them increase market share through improved student performance.
Beginning in 2011, Amplifire has been the corner-stone prep course, with 93% adoption across their student population.
Amplifire was incorporated into their 3-step bar exam preparation program in the winter of 2011. To measure the effectiveness of Amplifire within its student population, the organization hired an independent third party to review the results of its simulated multi-state bar exam.
“Our competitors have no answer.”
“With Amplifire, the future looks bright. It has given us the ability to go into a law school and say ‘we can be more than a bar review course…we can be a trusted partner from the first day of law school through the last day of the bar exam.”
The findings have been dramatic. Over three consecutive sections of the prep course, students demonstrated a 13-point lift in simulated exam scores that statistically correlates to Amplifire usage.
As a result, Amplifire is now a cornerstone of their bar prep course offering with greater than 93% adoption rate across their student population, giving thousands of students the edge they need to succeed on a career “make-or-break” examination.
