5,300 February California Bar Takers May Face Technical And Logistical Problems With New Exam: ‘It Feels Like Hazing’

Reuters, California’s New Bar Exam Hits Early Snags, Examinees Report:

California will roll out its new bar exam on Feb. 25, but test takers say they have already encountered technical and logistical problems ranging from crashed computers and distracting online proctors on mock exams to an inability to schedule their tests.

The stakes are high for the state's more than 5,300 February bar takers — who must pass the two-day exam in order to become licensed lawyers — and for the State Bar of California, which last year became the first to ditch the national bar exam and develop its own test to cut costs.

The February test will also be the first bar exam to allow remote participation since the COVID-19 pandemic pushed testing online in 2020 and 2021, which led to technology problems.

With about three weeks to go, some examinees have been unable to schedule their in-person tests and are finding that there are fewer locations than they anticipated. Many say communication with the State Bar and Meazure Learning — the vendor contracted to deliver the exam — has been sparse and at times contradictory. …

Bar officials said Friday that 67% of February bar takers are remote while 33% will test in person. But only four large in-person testing sites are planned — one each in the San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento areas — meaning farther travel for many.

Law360, New California Bar Exam Burdens Takers With Logistics Issues:

Logistical headaches are plaguing California’s rollout of its new bar exam, test takers say, just weeks before they expect to sit for it.

The problem is being worsened by poor, sometimes contradictory, communication from the State Bar and the company administering the brand new attorney licensing test, according to reports from six people, who spoke to Bloomberg Law and plan to take the test scheduled to begin Feb. 25.

The latest trouble distracting them from studying is a lack of clarity about where they’ll be taking the test if they opted to test in-person, precluding candidates from budgeting for and solidifying travel plans. It’s not clear how to sign up for smaller test centers the bar said it would provide, and applicants say the few large ones are inconvenient. The candidates say they receive conflicting logistical information from the State Bar and Meazure Learning, when they hear back at all. …

[T]he Bar released a list of permitted and prohibited items that is dramatically narrower than that available to test takers in the past, [Emma] Dauplaise said.

February examinees won’t be able to bring menstrual products, car keys, or credit cards into the exam room under the new guidelines, she said. Scratch paper also isn’t permitted, but small whiteboards are.

“It feels like hazing,” Dauplaise said. “It doesn’t seem to have any logic.”