In a departure from tradition, record numbers of first-year law students chose to take at least one of their first semester courses pass-fail this year.

Law students have traditionally found themselves in a bind when choosing to “3k,” the common term for pass-fail grading. Students interviewed independently described the situation repeatedly as a “prisoner’s dilemma,” referencing the archetypal problem of decisions made with imperfect information.

Choosing to be graded pass-fail, whatever one’s personal reasons, could cause problems if the student is one of only a handful of students to do so in the law school class. However, last semester somewhere between one-third and one-half of first-year students elected to take a class pass-fail, a fact which affects the way the action is perceived by others.

There was this whole issue before where employers might say it’s an oddity,” said first-year law student Chris Wells. “[From orientation onwards] a lot of us wanted to make it a real option at the law school.”

First-year law student John Kimble drafted an open letter about the 3k decision and sent it to the first-year student email list on the last day students could choose their grading basis. Seeing the letter and the excitement it generated emboldened students to take the pass-fail option and also gave the student body an indication of the movement’s support.

The day of the grading-basis decision deadline, “there was a palpable panic in the library,” Kimble said. “I basically said ‘I have done this, and add your name to the list.’ First-year students are notorious for being cautious and risk-adverse, and this really seemed like a way to get it out there. The response was incredible.”

In the past there have been about seven per year,” Wells said, referring to the number of students who take all of their law courses pass-fail. “To see so many people sign it made it clear that it was a much larger movement this year.”

There had been talk all semester, but people had never really followed through,” said first-year law student Rachel Marshall. “When John sent the email, it really added a sense of urgency.”

Kimble’s letter hit home with a class that had struggled against the traditional “forced curve” model of law-school grading. Even before classes began, students discussed attempting to increase the number of students who would take the option. As the quarter continued, students distributed a survey to gauge interest among the first-year class for the idea.

Law school students have the option to take all courses pass-fail only in their first semester. After that, they can opt for pass-fail credit in two courses for the rest of their career. Choosing to “3k” opens the student to assessment on a credit, reduced-credit, no-credit scheme, rather than the classic A through F grading scale.

Students chalked up the dramatic increase to a shift in culture among law students and a shared sentiment that a change to ingrained “forced curve” traditions was necessary.

“We’re a collegial environment,” Wells said. “When you’re here you realize that what and how you’re learning should be cooperative, rather than based on needless competition.”

“Stanford’s not about being cutthroat for the sake of cutthroat,” Kimble said.

Choosing to “3k” has not meant an easier semester for the students who chose such a route.

“Most pass-fail folks I talked to were still going to study just as hard,” said first-year law student Ben Jackson. “Sure, pass-fail would allow us to ‘get by’ with less good work, but this is a professional school: we’re paying for an education, not just a degree. The large majority of us left jobs — good jobs — to go back to school, so you find a different mindset from undergrad: we’re intrinsically motivated.”

With the first-year students past their opening semester, and the pass-fail decision behind them, students are looking forward to the effects of the spike.

“We’re all kind of holding our breath to see how employers react,” Jackson said. “That will factor into how we advise incoming students.”

“I think it will definitely impact students making the decision next year,” Marshall said. “They’ll know it’s been done before.”