I
know
what
you’re
thinking:
great
idea
with
a
terrible
track
record.
Experimental
bar
exams
have
left
a
bad
taste
in
everyone’s
mouth
since
February,
and
for
good
reason.
The
California
Bar’s
Kaplan-powered
rollout
was
terrible:
AI-generated
questions,
comically
bad
service
from
the
exam
vendor,
and
grading
fixes
that
spat
out
way
more
lawyers
than
usual.
But
knowing
where
things
derailed
is
the
first
step
to
getting
back
on
track.
Remote
bar
exams
carry
some
serious
benefits:
convenience,
lower
operational
costs,
greater
access,
the
list
goes
on.
With
some
work,
the
dream
could
be
a
reality.
The
ABA
Journal
spoke
with
the
NCBE
about
their
blueprint
for
successful
remote
examinations:
“It
would
be
fantastic
to
move
away
from
event-based
testing,”
where
all
candidates
take
the
exam
at
once,
Kara
Smith,
chief
product
officer
at
the
NCBE,
told
the
ABA
Journal.
“It
would
be
great
to
have
window-based
testing,
or
on
demand
testing.”Smith
went
on
to
outline
five
key
areas
that
need
to
be
developed
before
the
exam
could
be
administered
remotely:
-
Confidence
of
licensing
authorities,
courts
and
the
public
in
the
fairness
and
rigor
of
the
exam.
-
Security
to
prevent
test-taker
impersonation,
content
theft
and
unauthorized
assistance.
-
Reliability
of
devices
and
connectivity.
-
Assurances
that
candidates
with
disabilities
or
from
underresourced
communities
aren’t
disadvantaged.
-
Guarantees
that
examinees
are
in
distraction-free,
secure
and
private
environments.
The
checklist
could
have
been
shortened
by
writing
“DO
THE
OPPOSITE
OF
WHATEVER
CALIFORNIA
DID”
on
the
itinerary.
One
of
the
first
hiccups
in
the
break
from
the
NCBE
exam
came
directly
the
Supreme
Court
of
California.
Part
of
the
Bar’s
lawsuit
against
Meazure
Learning
accused
them
of
lax
exam
security
and
distracting
proctors,
just
some
of
the
things
you
really
don’t
want
to
deal
with
during
a
test
that
will
determine
if
you
can
make
good
on
your
recent
six-figure
commitment
to
study
Quimbee
outlines.
It’s
a
rough
road
ahead
for
NCBE,
but
the
challenge
isn’t
insurmountable.
Could
the
bar
exam
become
on
demand?
[ABA
Journal]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.