I know what you’re thinking: great idea with a terrible track record. Experimental bar exams have left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth since February, and for good reason. The California Bar’s rollout was terrible: AI-generated questions, comically bad service from the exam vendor, and grading fixes that spat out way more lawyers than usual. But knowing where things derailed is the first step to getting back on track. Remote bar exams carry some serious benefits: convenience, lower operational costs, greater access, the list goes on. With some work, the dream could be a reality. The ABA Journal spoke with the NCBE about their blueprint for successful remote examinations:
“It would be fantastic to move away from event-based testing,” where all candidates take the exam at once, Kara Smith, chief product officer at the NCBE, told the ABA Journal. “It would be great to have window-based testing, or on demand testing.”
Smith went on to outline five key areas that need to be developed before the exam could be administered remotely:
- Confidence of licensing authorities, courts and the public in the fairness and rigor of the exam.
- Security to prevent test-taker impersonation, content theft and unauthorized assistance.
- Reliability of devices and connectivity.
- Assurances that candidates with disabilities or from underresourced communities aren’t disadvantaged.
- Guarantees that examinees are in distraction-free, secure and private environments.
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The checklist could have been shortened by writing “DO THE OPPOSITE OF WHATEVER CALIFORNIA DID” on the itinerary. One of the first hiccups in the break from the NCBE exam came directly the Supreme Court of California. Part of the Bar’s lawsuit against Meazure Learning accused them of lax exam security and distracting proctors, just some of the things you really don’t want to deal with during a test that will determine if you can make good on your recent six-figure commitment to study Quimbee outlines.
It’s a rough road ahead for NCBE, but the challenge isn’t insurmountable.
Could the bar exam become on demand? [ABA Journal]
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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, is interested in critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.