Bar Exam Technology Disaster

[didymus]

Inside Higher Ed:

Bar Exam Technology Disaster

New law graduates in many states experienced a technology snafu at the worst possible time Tuesday night: as they were attempting to upload bar examinations just before deadlines in their states. Many reported spending hours trying and failing to upload their answers. ExamSoft, a company that manages the bar test submission process in many states, acknowledged “slowness or difficulty” being experienced by many test-takers, and said that it was sorry for the difficulties many were having. The company, working with various state bar associations, announced 17 deadline extensions by states, so that people who couldn’t submit their exams would not be penalized.

The legal blog Above the Law posted some of the emails and social media messages being posted by angry law graduates. the blog said that the situation “appears to be the biggest bar exam debacle in history.”

Many bar exams continue today, so the frustrated test-takers who were up late, some fearing that they may have failed by not submitting their day’s results, have another stressful day ahead of them, for many of them without as much sleep as they might have had otherwise. (snip)

I got a chuckle out of the story but it really isn’t funny, not with so many young lawyers failing to find work. A law degree has joined the Master of Fine Arts as a ticket to “would you like fries with that?”

 

[kozlosap]

3 years ago my Dear Daughter’s laptop totally froze during the three day California Bar The ABA really does need to upgrade the exam software situation. (She passed!)

 

[marymary1975]

I have never ever trusted the laptop option for the bar. When I was going to take some people tried to talked me into the laptop option and I said no way. And anyone who asks me about it I say no precisely because of this. One minor issue and you are screwed. Also the bar just gets more and more difficult and the ABA is concentrated on lowering the passing rates so this for them is bingo.

Also just want to clarify that this option only applies for the essays not the MBE so how much this affects the person will depend on the state, how much the state counts the MBE and what are the state tests. In NY for example if you do good on the MBE it may not affect that bad but in my state of Massachusetts where the essays are 50% it can be the kiss of good bye.

 

[marymary1975]

3 years ago my Dear Daughter’s laptop totally froze during the three day California Bar The ABA really does need to upgrade the exam software situation. (She passed!)

Oh they won’t upgrade it. They want people to fail! The worst the software the better for the ABA