California New Bar Exam Giving Young Lawyers Problems!

- 3 February, 2025

Key Issues

California one of the first states to scrap the original Bar Exam
Working with a third party testing organization
Technical and Scheduling problems already
Graduates frustrated with the inability to register

Stated in an early article provide here about the new Bar Association testing structure, the time is officially here. California has already planned to begin distributing the new bar exam on February 25^th. Now contrary to the belief this test format would make the exam better, its struggle to catch on. Test takers are complaining about technical issues and crashing computers, along with disruptive proctors during mock examinations.

With 5,300 bar takers scheduled for the exam – who must pass the two-day exam – and for the California State Bar Association, which last year removed the nation bar exam, then developing its own test cutting costs.

Testing Since COVID

February will also be the first bar exam to pass remote participation since COVID switched the format to testing online in 2020 and 2021. This too resulted in significant testing problems technically.

Now being crunch time for the state, some individual test takers have been unable to even schedule their tests. There is also the issue of fewer in-person testing locations being provided. Some are saying that Meazure Learning, the contracted testing distributor, has been thin and many times contradictory.

Law graduates are becoming frustrated saying that scheduling is now borderline absurd. Most are giving up scheduling remote test taking altogether due to the inconveniences. Some even losing a day of testing time dealing with faulty websites and scheduling issues ().

Responses to Difficult Times from California and Test Takers

A California State Bar representative and Meazure Learning came out admitting to the technical issues preventing some to register on Thursday, January 30^th, then stated the issue had been fixed Friday, January 31^st.

The State Bar in August had attempted to rush an exam created by Kaplan Exam Services. They gave testers the choice of online or in-person examinations. This change was estimated at as much as $3.8 million annually eliminating event space rentals ().

Examiners have flocked to Reddit and other forums to complain and find assistance with scheduling their exams. Georgetown Law grad Harshita Ganesh who resides in Massachusetts stated that the exam has been much more turbulent than the original bar exam she took last year.

Ganesh still was unable to understand where she will be taking her examination after she experienced problems Thursday, January 30^th with the Meazure online booking system. “The entire system has been absolutely awful,” Ganesh said.

�鶹APP