California bar seeks to reduce pass score after disastrous exam rollout

By Karen Sloan

April 22 (Reuters) - The State Bar of California said it will ask the state's high court to adjust test scores for those who took its problem-plagued February bar exam, which was marred by technical and logistical issues.

The state bar on Monday said it wants to set the raw passing score for the attorney licensing exam at 534 — lower than the 560 score recommended by its standardized testing expert who looked at February's results. Raw pass scores can fluctuate each year and are converted according to a standardized scale.

If approved by the Supreme Court of California, the score adjustment would apply to all February examinees regardless of the specific issues they encountered on the test. The state bar said it will ask the court this week to reach a decision by April 28, with test results slated to be released on May 2.

February marked the debut of California’s hybrid bar exam given both remotely and in person, which did not include any components of the national bar exam the state had been using for decades. The change was introduced with the intention of reducing costs, however, test takers reported a slew of problems ranging from software crashes to interruptions from proctors. It's not yet clear how many of the 4,300 who took California's February's exam encountered problems. The state bar has launched an investigation into the botched test.

“The bottom line is February bar exam test takers deserved better, and we apologize for the difficulties many experienced,” State Bar Board of Trustees Chair Brandon Stallings said in an announcement of the recommendation.

The state bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners also recommended that the bar “impute” scores for test takers who weren’t able to complete significant portions of the two-day exam. That process involves using a test taker’s submitted answers to project their performance on questions that were missing.

Because the problems February examinees encountered were not uniform, the Committee of Bar Examiners faced a difficult task in determining a fair solution that also protects the integrity of the bar exam, chair Alex Chan said. The pass rate for California’s February exam is typically around 35%.

The committee is scheduled to meet on May 5 to discuss further potential remedies for February examinees, such as a provisional licensure program that would enable them to work under the supervision of an experienced attorney until they can take and pass the bar, or a similar supervised practice program that would allow them to become licensed without having to take the bar.

Read more:

California bar exam meltdown on Tuesday prompts offer of March retakes

California bar hits pause on provisional lawyer licensing tied to exam meltdown