According to the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners, 58.7 percent of people taking the bar exam in February passed the test.
The board said 695 would-be lawyers took the test in February. Of them, 408 passed, and thus took an important step toward admission to the Massachusetts bar.
The board said 385 of the 695 test-takers were taking the exam for the first time, 163 were taking the test for the second time, 50 for the third time, 40 for the fourth time and 57 for the fifth time.
Only seven of the 57 taking the test for the fifth time passed, the board reported.
