If you’re planning to take the LSAT anytime soon, you might want to become familiar with Microsoft’s Surface Go.
Just a year after the Surface Book was banned from the Bar Exam in Tennessee for compatibility issues, the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the organization behind the LSAT, has chosen the Surface Go to administer the test going forward.
Students will take the test’s five multiple choice sections on the tablets, while the writing sample will be separated. Students will be able to submit the writing sample from any device they choose.
The move comes as the LSAT, which is no longer required by some top law schools, is going entirely digital this year. The LSAC says it went through “hundreds of tablets” in order to find the perfect one to administer the test, The Verge reports. Apple tablets were disqualified for their price tag and proprietary ecosystem, while Chromebooks didn’t make the cut because they weren’t high enough quality.
The law group was especially interested in reliability. Given that taking the test is already stressful enough, the LSAC wants to prevent a situation where a digital device might fail midway through a student’s exam, creating even more stress.
The LSAC is planning to exclusively administer the LSAT via the Surface Go by July 2019.