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The California Supreme Court has allowed the State Bar to modify bar exam scores due to significant technical issues experienced during the February 2025 exam. This decision will enable the release of scores for over 4,000 applicants and introduces the Multistate Bar Exam for the upcoming July test. Concerns regarding the use of AI in question drafting have sparked debates about the exam’s integrity and fairness, leading to calls for increased transparency and a review of the State Bar’s practices.

California – The California Supreme Court has granted approval for the State Bar to adjust bar exam scores following significant technical disruptions during the February 2025 exam. As a result of this decision, the scores for the 4,231 applicants who took the exam will be released, alleviating concerns related to the problems experienced during the testing process.

The justices mandated the State Bar to implement the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) for the multiple-choice portion of the upcoming July exam. This decision comes after troubling revelations regarding the exam’s question drafting process, notably the undisclosed use of artificial intelligence (AI) to formulate some of the exam’s questions, which has raised questions about the fairness and validity of the exam.

Applicants for the July exam will need to achieve a raw score of 534 to pass, which is derived from a total of 700 points available from the written section combined with 171 points from the multiple-choice section. Each segment will be weighted equally at 50%. For the February 2025 exam, the passing raw score was established at a minimum of 420 points.

The California Supreme Court’s ruling also allows exam graders to apply psychometric imputation to scores of those test takers who correctly answered at least 114 of the 171 multiple-choice questions and at least four of the six written components. This adjustment aims to provide a fair resolution for examinees impacted by the exam’s earlier issues.

The controversy surrounding the February exam began when it was disclosed that 29 out of 200 exam questions had been developed with the assistance of AI through the State Bar’s psychometric contractor, ACS Ventures Inc. Furthermore, some questions were alleged to be recycled from a first-year law student exam, prompting criticism from legal educators regarding the integrity and originality of the questions.

Test takers during the February exam reported a range of challenges, including being unexpectedly removed from online testing platforms, experiencing significant lag during the exam, and facing questions that lacked clarity. These reported issues have led to a federal lawsuit against Meazure Learning, the exam administrator responsible for overseeing the testing process.

The adoption of a new bar exam model was influenced by the State Bar’s reported $22 million deficit. In an effort to enhance the exam’s structure, the State Bar contracted Kaplan Exam Services to assist in developing exam questions. However, the use of AI has sparked outrage among the law school faculty, who argue that it undermines the exam’s validity.

In defense of its practices, the State Bar maintains that all questions on the exam were thoroughly reviewed by content validation panels and expert advisors prior to the test date. Despite this assurance, critics have called for increased transparency, with many urging the State Bar to publicly release all 200 questions from the February exam for independent review. This move is seen as essential to restoring faith in the examination process and ensuring accountability in future implementations.

In light of the turmoil surrounding the February exam, California Senate Judiciary Chair Thomas J. Umberg has called for a thorough audit of the State Bar, expressing the need for reform to prevent similar issues from recurring. This ongoing discussion has led some to advocate for a return to the previous bar examination administration system, citing the need for higher reliability and integrity in the testing process.

As the State Bar works to resolve these challenges and implement the necessary adjustments for future exams, the focus remains on ensuring a fair and equitable examination process for all law graduates in California.

California Supreme Court Approves Bar Exam Score Adjustments

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Author: HERE Huntington Beach