There is no quota or limit on the number of candidates who can pass the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), assessment provider Kaplan told a Solicitors Regulation Authority conference today – after performance data for sittings last January and July revealed a striking difference in pass rates.

SQE1 data published by the regulator shows the pass rate falling from 56% for candidates sitting the exam in January 2024, to 44% in July 2024, before climbing up to 56% in January 2025.

Kaplan's managing director Zoe Robinson told the event that pass marks are not pre-determined to ensure the exams remain fair. ‘One exam might be a little bit harder or a little bit easier than others. Our intention is to make them equally challenging but you can [never] be precise on that,’ Robinson said.

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Robinson said: ‘To dispel a myth that’s around, there is no quota or limit for who can pass the exam. It does not depend on who else is sitting the exam in that window. There was a difference in pass rates between the two sittings in 2024 and that was quite large. The July 2024 pass rate was the lowest pass rate we had seen to date. But the standard setting process and quality assurance process assured us these outcomes were the correct outcomes and confirmed that cohort unfortunately just performed less well.’

Kaplan's Tim Maddison, legal academic director, told the conference that part of the method for setting the pass mark involves looking at how candidates sitting different tests score on common questions. The July 2024 cohort scored lower on the common questions. ‘That would account for the lower pass rate we saw,’ Maddison said.