The Board of Bar Examiners has determined that errors in the scoring of the July 2015 and February 2016 Bar examinations resulted in 90 applicants being mistakenly notified that they had failed the examination when, in fact, they had passed. The Board is making a concerted effort to notify each and every one of them personally.
SUPREME COURT OF GEORGIA — OFFICE OF BAR ADMISSIONS — JULY 2015 AND FEBRUARY 2016 BAR EXAMINATIONS
STATEMENT FROM BOARD OF BAR EXAMINERS CHAIR JOHN SAMMON
“As members of the Board of Bar Examiners, we take full responsibility for the integrity of the Bar Examination and are working to restore trust in the scoring process. As attorneys ourselves, we recognize the seriousness of this mistake and deeply regret the distress we know this has caused. We have conducted a thorough investigation. We have determined the causes of these errors. Most importantly, we are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again.”
September 6, 2016
The Board of Bar Examiners has determined that you are one of 90 people who passed the Georgia Bar examinations administered in July 2015 or February 2016, despite prior notification that you had failed to pass. As Board members, we take full responsibility for these errors and offer our sincerest apologies to you.
Having taken the Bar examination ourselves, we recognize the distress that this mistake has caused you. As members of the Board, we are charged with upholding the integrity of the Bar examination.
We have conducted a thorough investigation and have confirmed the causes of the errors in the scoring process. Those have been corrected and we are establishing procedures to ensure we will not make the same errors going forward. Credibility is our certification system’s greatest asset and we must restore the public trust.
The Board is prepared to reimburse you for fees associated with any subsequent exams taken as specified in the letter you have received from the Office of Bar Admissions, although we know your investment of time and effort greatly outweighs the additional cost of the examination.
Again, we offer our most sincere apology.
Sincerely,
John Sammon
Chair, Board of Bar Examiners
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How did you find out about this?
There are actually two separate errors. Someone who had taken the July 2015 exam applied for admission to the bar in another state. As part of the standard procedure for responding to an inquiry from another jurisdiction, the applicant’s score history was pulled. In doing so, we found an aberration in the reporting of that applicant’s score. That led to a deeper investigation and ultimately to where we are today.
For the February 2016 examination, a different methodology was used for the score calculation, which yielded a different result. The Board of Bar Examiners decided to return to the prior methodology. This procedure resulted in passing scores for some who had been notified that they did not pass.
Who’s to blame for these errors?
As members of the Board of Bar Examiners, we are responsible for the integrity of the Bar examination process.
Do you know what caused the problem and is it fixed?
There are a number of factors that led to these problems, new procedures being implemented and some changes in scoring. The bottom line is that the problems are fixed and we are notifying and reimbursing those impacted by the error.
What will happen with the people who have been impacted by the errors?
They are being notified that they passed the Georgia Bar exam. If they paid for taking the Georgia Bar exam again, we will pay them back for that expense and certain other fees associated with the examination. We are making a concerted effort to contact each and every one of them directly to let them know that we are sorry for the error.
Could this error impact any other exams in the past or in the future?
Following a thorough investigation, we are confident this is the extent of the problems and that this will not happen again.
When did you find out about the problem?
The investigation into possible problems started earlier this year. In the spring we became aware of concerns with the dual track scoring of the February exam, and in August we became aware of issues with the July scoring. It took several weeks to determine exactly what happened in each case, exactly who was affected and to correct the problem.
STATEMENT FROM BOARD OF BAR EXAMINERS CHAIR JOHN SAMMON [Supreme Court of Georgia – Office of Bar Admissions]
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
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