ABA Journal, Flurry of Moves Aim to Remedy—and Prevent Future—California Bar Exam Disasters:
Attempts to resolve myriad issues in the disastrous February administration of California’s bar exam—and to prevent future missteps—spurred a flurry of moves last week from the State Bar of California, the California Supreme Court and law school deans as the state prepares for the return to an in-person administration of the Multistate Bar Examination next month.
State Bar of California, Recitals and Resolutions
The Recorder, California Supreme Court Moves to Strip State Bar Trustees of Exam Authority:
California's Supreme Court on Wednesday proposed shifting oversight of the biannual lawyer licensing exam to the state bar's committee of bar examiners in an apparent rebuke of the board of trustees following the disastrous February test.
Acting on its own motion, the high court released a series of recommended amendments to the Rules of Court, including the swap of exam responsibility. The proposals will now go out for 45 days of public comment before the court ultimately acts.
Bloomberg, California Bar Exam Violated Disability Rights, Applicants Say:
The California Bar systematically failed to provide accommodations on the February Bar exam, violating the rights of test takers with disabilities, a coalition of disabled examinees said in a letter to the Bar.
Reuters, California Bar Exam Lawsuits Against Vendor Consolidated:
A California federal judge on Tuesday consolidated three lawsuits against exam vendor Meazure Learning over California's problem-plagued February bar exam.
Law360, Third Round Of Fixes Sought In Botched Calif. Bar Exam:
The California state bar's committee of bar examiners has approved two additional remedies in an effort to help applicants who failed the troubled February exam.
Reuters, Hundreds of California Bar Exam-Takers Move From Fail to Pass With New Scoring:
More than 200 people who took California’s disastrous February bar exam will go from failing to passing under a new round of grading changes approved on Friday, boosting the test’s overall pass rate from 56% to 63% — nearly double the state's historical average of 35%.
- Above the Law, The Number Of People Who Passed California’s February Bar Exam Has Grown By The Hundreds
- Axios, California Bar Exam's AI Scandal Sets Stage for High-Stakes Retake
- Bloomberg Law, Over 200 More California Bar Takers to Pass After New Adjustment
- Fox News, More Than 200 California Bar Exam-Takers Move From Fail to Pass After New Scoring Adjustment
- Law360, Calif. Bar Hires Investigator To Review Exam Snafu
- Newsweek, California Bar Exam Changes Hundreds of Scores From 'Fail' to 'Pass'
- The Recorder, State Bar Poised to Pass Hundreds More Who Initially Failed February Bar Exam
- Reuters, California's February Bar Exam Mess Is Costing Millions to Clean Up
Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:
- California Bar Exam Suffers Catastrophic Meltdown: ‘I’ve Never Had This Much Despair And Hopelessness’ (Feb. 27, 2025)
- The California Bar Exam Fiasco: Is Provisional Licensure The Appropriate Remedy? (Mar. 1, 2025)
- New York Times: California Bar Exam Fiasco Enrages Test Takers And Clouds Their Futures; Chemerinsky Calls For Provisional Licensure (Mar. 3, 2025)
- 17 Deans Ask California High Court To Provisionally License Grads Who Fail February Exam And Scrap New Kaplan-Written Questions And Revert Back To In-Person Exams In July (Mar. 4, 2025)
- California Supreme Court Reverts Back To In-Person Bar Exam In July (Mar. 5, 2025)
- Law Profs: California State Bar Must Be Held Accountable For Its Catastrophic Failures (Mar. 6, 2025)
- California Bar Orders Investigation Of February Exam Disaster As Beleaguered Test-Takers Fume (Mar. 9, 2025)
- California Bar Blocked Law School Deans And Professors From Vetting Troubled Bar Exam (Mar. 15, 2025)
- California Bar Recommends Provisional Licensure For All Who Failed And Withdrew From The February Bar Exam (Mar. 16, 2025)
- State Bar Of California Announces Remediation Actions For The February Bar Exam And Plans For The July Bar Exam (Mar. 18, 2025)
- California Bar Still Can't Decide How To Make Applicants Whole After Botched February Bar Exam (Apr. 8, 2025)
- California Bar Allowed Non-Lawyers To Use AI To Draft February Exam Questions, Will Ask Supreme Court To Lower Cut Score (Apr. 23, 2025)
- California Supreme Court Demands Answers From State Bar On Its Use Of AI In Preparing Bar Exam Questions (Apr. 26, 2025)
- Pressure Grows On California Bar To Switch To NCBE For July Exam Following February Exam Debacle (Apr. 28, 2025)
- California Bar Delays Release Of Results Of Catastrophic February Exam, Further Punishing Applicants (Apr. 30, 2025)
- California Supreme Court Lowers Passing Score on February Bar Exam, Orders Return to Multistate Exam in July (May 5, 2025)
- Pass Rate On February 2025 California Bar Exam Hits All-Time High, Due To Lowered Passing Score And Bonus For Taking Experimental Test (May 6, 2025)
- California Bar Backs Provisional Licensure For Those Who Withdrew From Or Failed Botched February Exam (May 13, 2025)
- California Bar Cops To Multiple Scoring Errors On Disastrous February Bar Exam; Third Party Will Do A Comprehensive Review (May 17, 2025)
- California Bar Notifies Another Tranche Of Test-Takers Who Were Told They Flunked But Actually Passed; Bar Petitions Supreme Court To Extend COVID-Era Provisional Licensure To Over 3,000 Victims Of Botched February Exam (May 26, 2025)
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