On Thursday, the New York State Board of Law Examiners released the bar examination results for the 3,881 candidates who took the test Feb. 22 and 23.

According to the board, less than half of those taking the test passed (48 percent). The number includes both domestic-educated and foreign-educated candidates, and also includes first-time test takers as well as repeat testers.

Overall, graduates of American Bar Association-approved law schools taking the examination for the first time fared considerably better, with 76 percent passing.

Both numbers, however, represent declines in the passing rate when compared to the February 2010 examination. At that time, 4,031 candidates took the test, the largest number ever for a February examination. Of those, 80.5 percent of students from ABA-approved law schools passed the exam, with the overall passing rate coming in at 50 percent.