Analysis of ABA’s proposed changes to bar pass standard for law schools
WALL STREET JOURNAL — The ABA’s accreditation council is renewing a push to toughen requirements in the face of historically low passage rates for attorney-licensing exams. The proposal—to condition ABA accreditation on meeting a 75% bar-pass rate—will be back on the table this month at an ABA meeting.
Read More about Analysis of ABA’s proposed changes to bar pass standard for law schoolsOpinion: UCLA Law Dean Jennifer Mnookin urges California to reconsider bar exam pass score
ABOVE THE LAW — To set the table, for those of you not following the California bar exam blow-by-blow in grisly detail: for the July 2018 California bar exam, just under 41 percent of all test-takers passed, the state’s worst performance since 1951, down from 55 percent just five years ago.
Read More about Opinion: UCLA Law Dean Jennifer Mnookin urges California to reconsider bar exam pass scoreABA to vote on proposal to raise bar passage standards
INSIDE HIGHER ED — The American Bar Association’s accreditation arm plans later this month to make another push to raise the standards for bar-passage rates a law school must meet to retain its recognition.
Read More about ABA to vote on proposal to raise bar passage standardsCalifornia’s high bar exam cut score may be disproportionally affecting students of color
THE SACRAMENTO BEE — A continuing decline in California’s bar exam pass rate is prompting the state’s law school deans to call for an overhaul. They suggest the minimum passing score of 144 is too high, compared to the national average of 135, and disproportionately keeps African-American and Latino graduates from entering the profession.
Read More about California’s high bar exam cut score may be disproportionally affecting students of colorOpinion: The role of state law in legal education and lawyer licensing
NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL — Since July 2016, New York law has not been tested on the bar exam. As of that test administration, New York switched to the Uniform Bar Exam, which consists of multiple choice, essay, and performance questions developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Read More about Opinion: The role of state law in legal education and lawyer licensingAnalysis of July 2018 California Bar Exam results
THE RECORDER — A state bar-commissioned study concludes that California law school students’ undergraduate credentials and law school performance accounted for up to 50 percent of the decline in bar exam scores and passing rates between 2013 and 2017.
Read More about Analysis of July 2018 California Bar Exam resultsLaw.com legal education newsletter: the bar exam of the future
LAW.COM — What subjects should the bar exam test? How should the test be delivered? And at what’s the best time to administer the bar? Those are a few of the questions the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ Testing Task Force is spending three years mulling over
Read More about Law.com legal education newsletter: the bar exam of the futureCalifornia Chief Justice has no plans for changing state’s bar exam cut score
THE RECORDER — Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said Tuesday the state Supreme Court has no immediate plans to reconsider the passing score on the California bar exam despite a historically low success rate on the July test.
Read More about California Chief Justice has no plans for changing state’s bar exam cut scoreIndiana Supreme Court creates commission to review state’s bar exam
INDIANA LAWYER — Amid slumping passage rates, the Indiana Supreme Court has created a special commission to review the state’s bar exam and make recommendations for changes in format or content, including whether to modify what is considered a passing score.
Read More about Indiana Supreme Court creates commission to review state’s bar examCalifornia lawmaker urges state bar to re-evaluate bar exam cut score
THE RECORDER — The chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday urged the state bar and California Supreme Court to “take a fresh look” at the viability of the bar exam in light of the historically low pass rate on the July 2018 test.
Read More about California lawmaker urges state bar to re-evaluate bar exam cut score