Cal Bar to negotiate with Kaplan to draft Cal Bar Exam content
In relevant part, the Cal Bar press release appears here (https://www.calbar.ca.gov/About-Us/News/News-Releases/Board-of-Trustees-Authorizes-Pursuit-of-a-California-Bar-Exam-Development-Contract-with-Kaplan):
At its July 18 meeting, the State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees voted to authorize the Board Chair and Executive Director to negotiate terms of and, if appropriate, execute a five-year bar exam agreement not to exceed $8.25 million with Kaplan North America, LLC. If an agreement is reached, Kaplan would create California-specific multiple-choice, essays, and performance test questions for the California Bar Exam. The multiple-choice questions would replace the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) in time for the February 2025 exam. The agreement will help the State Bar transition to remote and test center-based exam administration, both of which test takers prefer. These test administration changes will also help the State Bar close a significant gap in the Admissions Fund, which is projected to reach insolvency in 2026, absent further efforts to reduce costs.
For years, the State Bar has utilized the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ (NCBE) multiple-choice question set, the MBE. The NCBE does not allow remote or test center-based exam administration.
“The State Bar Admissions Fund must be self-sustaining, and the Board has been working to close a significant deficit by raising fees and cutting costs,” said Board Chair Brandon Stallings. “It is essential that the Board make financially prudent decisions while offering California bar exam takers options that meet their needs and help them save money. An agreement with Kaplan would preclude the need to balance the budget through further increases in applicant fees, and we look forward to working with Kaplan on this new endeavor. We also want to thank the NCBE for their partnership over the last four decades that the State Bar has utilized the MBE.”
