EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with new information, September 26, 2024.
On Sept. 18, the California Supreme Court denied the State Bar of California’s petition to give its own bar exam starting in February.
The court indicated in a brief docket entry that the state bar had made a misstep in following the proper procedure for moving to the new test.
The court said the state bar may file another petition to win approval for the new test after its committee of bar examiners has “considered and approved” it.
The state bar said on its website that it will seek the court’s approval as quickly as possible and that it still intends to give the new bar exam in February as planned.
The court’s denial comes amid criticism from some legal educators that the state bar has moved too quickly in changing the bar exam and that the process has been disorganized.
Judith Gundersen, president of National Conference of Bar Examiners, said on Sept. 19 that it shared a contingency plan with the state bar in May under which it could use the MBE in February, as it has previously done. But that exam would have to be given in person, she said.
The bar exam plan, which state bar officials said has been in the works for 15 months, hit a delay in May when the National Conference of Bar Examiners raised copyright concerns over Kaplan producing test questions similar to its own.
The state bar then entered into an agreement with Kaplan to share any litigation expenses incurred in potential copyright infringement cases before moving forward.
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The State Bar of California is planning to administer its own bar exam as early as February 2025.
The State Bar of California and Kaplan Exam Services signed an $8.25 million, five-year exam development agreement in August, authorizing Kaplan to create multiple-choice, essays and performance test questions for the California Bar Exam.
The multiple-choice questions will replace the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ (NCBE) Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) in time for the February and July 2025 exams.
Kaplan will provide faculty and student study guides, which the California State Bar will distribute at no cost. Kaplan will also exit the retail bar prep business specific to California, while continuing to serve other bar exam jurisdictions.
The agreement will help the California State Bar transition to remote and test center-based exam administration, both of which test takers prefer.
The questions developed pursuant to this agreement will not substantially modify the training or preparation required for passage of the exam.
For years, the California State Bar has utilized the NCBE’s multiple-choice question set, the MBE.
However, the NCBE does not allow remote or test center-based exam administration, and NCBE will be phasing out the MBE as a stand-alone product in 2028.
These test administration changes will also help the California State Bar close a significant gap in its Admissions Fund, which is projected to reach insolvency in 2026.
The California State Bar projects that the new arrangement will result in annual cost savings of up to $3.8 million in exam-related expenses — enough to significantly reduce if not fill the gap.
