The State Bar of California took an unprecedented step on Thursday by offering a full refund to the 5,600 people scheduled to take its new bar exam later this month. With the test date just 12 days away, applicants were given the option to withdraw and receive an $830 refund, marking an unusual and rare move by the state bar.
In an email to applicants, the state bar expressed its "extreme sorrow" over the issues faced by test takers and the company it hired to deliver the exam. This announcement came in light of the rocky lead-up to the new hybrid bar exam, which is scheduled for February 25 and 26.
The test will be a combination of remote and in-person assessments, and it will not include the national components that have traditionally been part of the exam. California’s bar exam is the second-largest in the country, following New York, with about 11,000 individuals taking the test each year in both February and July.
Test takers have reported difficulties with scheduling in-person exams and a lack of nearby test sites. Some claim the state bar and the testing company, Meazure Learning, provided conflicting information, while others have noted last-minute changes to study materials that they were not informed about.
In response to these concerns, the state bar acknowledged the challenges in its email, stating, “We understand that scheduling challenges, poor communication, and inconsistent messaging between the State Bar and Meazure Learning have caused a lot of frustration, confusion, and anxiety.”
Leah Wilson, executive director of the state bar, emphasized that steps would be taken to improve communication with applicants, saying, “We will take action to improve our communication with test takers immediately,” in a statement issued on Friday. Meazure Learning, however, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Despite the ongoing issues surrounding the test’s rollout, one applicant, who requested anonymity due to concerns about possible retaliation from the state bar, revealed that he still planned to take the exam. The applicant, licensed in another state, criticized the state bar and its contractors for being unprepared to administer the exam effectively. “They were not ready to administer this test in a fair and effective manner,” he said.
The changes to the California bar exam were fast-tracked in August, with the state bar partnering with Kaplan Exam Services to design the new test. This allowed examinees to choose between in-person or remote testing under online supervision, a move intended to save as much as $3.8 million annually by eliminating the need for large event spaces.
However, the new exam has already proven more costly than initially anticipated. During a subcommittee meeting on February 3, Wilson explained that the test's unexpected costs, including providing accommodations for test takers, were not factored into the original budget.
As a result, the July exam, which will have over 7,000 participants, is projected to be about $1 million more expensive than originally budgeted. The exam, which was initially planned to be split into two separate administrations over four days, will now be held in one session.
Some of the complications with the February bar exam are attributed to the unexpected surge in the number of applicants, with around 1,000 more people scheduled to take the test compared to the previous year.
“This is not us moving forward on our best foot,” Wilson said during the February meeting. “I want to assure folks that we are being accountable.”
