During the Cal Bar Q&A on Jan. 21, the Bar clarified:
If you’re not a handwriter, you MUST do the mock exam.
If you’re in-person, you don’t need to schedule an appointment since you won’t have a video proctor. But you still MUST do the mock exam.
And if you’re remote, you MUST do the mock exam, but you must set an appointment so a video proctor is there since that’s what’ll happen on exam day.
Hello everyone!
A lot of updates to the February 2025 FAQ document. You can find the document here:
February-2025-Bar-Exam-FAQs 11725
Highlights:
LA – Ontario Convention Center. Two things: 1) DUDE, Ontario is in ORANGE COUNTY. Not LA. 2) That sounds like a site where the Bar used to be given?!
Sacramento – @ The Grounds
SF – South SF Conference Center
San Diego – Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center.
OK folks, does this sound like a rope-a-dope to you? The Cal Bar said they’d be going insolvent in 2026 and can’t hold bar exams in hotels. The Cal Bar used to hold bar exams in hotels in LA, Sac, Bay Area, and San Diego. Now… the Cal Bar is holding exams in large convention hall-sounding facilities in person. What am I missing?
Anyway, when you go online on January 30, you will input your zip code, and only the sites closest to your location will be listed. And if you live anywhere near any of the four major sites, “only that site will be available for you to choose from.” So it still sounds like a first-come, first-serve thing. Sign up early on January 30.
Oh yeah: FAQ 22: the exam scheduling window runs from Jan. 30 – Feb. 14. But NOTE: last day to change from remote to in-person or vice versa is January 20. Last day to change between in-person locations is February 3.
3. Hardcopy update: only applicants with accommodations, whose disabilities require hardcopies for accommodation, can use hardcopies. And if you’re getting hardcopies, that means you MUST test in person. And that means you can’t use your desktop/laptop. You must use the Meazure Learning computers and from what I saw on a video, it looks like a desktop with a generic keyboard.
4. If you’re testing remotely, you can use laptop or desktop. Only one mouse or keyboard can be used.
5. Break time: same situation whether you’re testing remotely or in-person. And you are not allowed to continue taking the exam after the break has expired. 5-minute breaks, people. Plan for 3-4 minutes, go pee, and get back to your seat PRONTO.
6. Want to change your modality (in person, handwriter, remote)? The deadline has changed: it’s now JANUARY 20. Reason: so if you need to do remote or in person you can complete the mock exam on time. Remote MUST do the mock exam. In-person: mock exam is OPTIONAL, per FAQ 35. You can do it if you want but it’s only available until January 24. No need to schedule an appointment for in-person mock exam since it’s unproctored.
7. EXAM DAY LOGISTICS: plan to arrive (in person or remote) at least 30 minutes prior to your start time. Log in no later than 15 minutes before your appointment time on exam day. They reserve the right to deny you access to your exam if you’re late.
8. PT’s on exam day: you will view and annotate the materials in a pdf. You have single-color highlighter functionality, text annotation and comment features, tagging system to help organize notes, and text can be copies/pasted into the response field.
9. If you’re absent for any portion of your exam, the Cal Bar treats you as not having taken the exam, and exams aren’t graded.
10. AFTER JANUARY 20, YOU CAN’T CHANGE YOUR TESTING MODALITY. In other words, you can’t change from in-person to remote. Between January 21-Feb. 3, you can petition to change which in-person site you go to (i.e., Sacramento to SF). Not guaranteed but you do have the chance to do it.
11. Admittance Tickets – no more need to print them. You must bring a printed confirmation notice from Meazure Learning upon arrival for in-person candidates.
Again, this FAQ update has a lot of new/updated content. Check it out so you’re informed!
Hello everyone,
I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and I still have relatives who live there. The images of the LA wildfires are horrifying. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the region. For Cal Bar applicants, this is a very challenging time as we reach the 45-day mark before the exam.
In its latest FAQ (dated 1/9), the Cal Bar indicated the following:
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
Any February bar exam takers who have been displaced or personally affected by the wildfires around
Los Angeles County and want to discuss any changes in their circumstances regarding the upcoming
exam administration can email Wildfire.Emergencies@calbar.ca.gov.
If you’re able to read this and you’ve been affected by the wildfires, please email the Cal Bar at the email address above. Tell them about how you were affected, but make sure to tell them that the new dates for the mock exam might be hard to deal with right now. I hope they are humane enough to provide extensions to register for and take the mock exam to those affected. That said, I believe you need a compatible laptop to do the mock exam. Note that for the in-person modality, the Meazure Learning site provides computers and a place to take the exam. That may be a factor for some who are displaced by the fires.
Best of luck to everyone out there, but especially to those who have been displaced by the fires.
February-2025-Bar-Exam-FAQs 1925 wildfire update
Hello!
Some important updates for you about the exam. I’m attaching the current (as of 1/8/25) FAQ document. This is very important.
MOCK EXAM UPDATE
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT!
In past exams, the mock exam period ran from the month before the exam to the Friday before the exam (i.e., January 28 – February 21).
According to FAQ 31, this time frame has CHANGED.
There is a two-step process for completing the required mock exam:
• Step One: On January 13, 2025, applicants will receive an email from Meazure Learning to schedule their mock exam. Applicants will need to schedule their mock exams between January 13 and 16, 2025.
• Step Two: The mock exam session will be held between January 17 and January 22, 2025.
Again, note these deadlines. You should receive an email on January 13. You need to schedule the mock exam and you have between January 13-16 to schedule it.
The actual mock exam period will take place between January 17-22.
According to FAQ 41, “Applicants who do not take the mock exam will not be allowed to sit for the exam.”
So, schedule the mock exam on January 13. Whenever you plan on taking it (and I think January 17 is a FINE time to do so), make sure you get it done.
REMINDER: the mock exam is NOT something you study for. There’s no new exam questions. You’re not doing an essay. You’re not submitting anything. And nothing is graded. It’s like playing in a digital sandbox. It’s there so you waive all liability in case your computer craps out during the exam. They have all the leverage. You don’t do the mock exam before the deadline, you don’t get to take the exam.
Again, you MUST do the mock exam if you want to take the bar exam.
Scheduling your exam
FAQ 21 says you’ll receive an email invite from Meazure Learning with instructions on how to schedule your exam ON JANUARY 30. You can then select your preferred test site (remote or in-person), first-come, first served. Make sure to check spam/junk folders for emails from testingsupport@meazurelearning.com or support@meazurelearning.zendesk.com. In fact, just whitelist those emails now.
Resources for exam day
Check out FAQ 23 for support information about the Meazure Exam platform, process overview video, test center process video, and ProctorU Test Taker Library.
Highlighting and copy/paste
You can use these features on exam day (FAQ 26).
February-2025-Bar-Exam-FAQs 1825
Hello everyone!
Good luck tonight! I know you’ll be checking results from the July 2024 Cal Bar Exam very soon. I hope you receive good news!
If the news isn’t what you hoped for tonight, don’t worry. People fail the Cal Bar Exam. In fact, about 1/2 of you will, if history is accurate. Smart people fail the Cal Bar. It happens, promise.
What to do next?
If you pass tonight, congratulations! Go celebrate, sleep, and be grateful you don’t have to retake the exam. No felonies, please! Get sworn in, and use your license for the power of good and impact people’s lives in a positive way.
If you don’t pass, mourn your result for 15 minutes. Then contact me. Good tutors fill up quickly. The worst thing that can happen is that you want to work with a tutor, wait too long, and then you don’t get to work with that tutor. Programs can fill up within a few days, or even a few hours.
I’ve tutored for 25 years, taught several courses at UC Law SF for that period of time (Legal Writing I and II, Critical Studies I, II, III), and I’m one of a handful of 1-on-1 MBE tutors in the country. I’ve tutored through the COVID exams, so I know how to handle paperless exams. And that means I know how to help you Avoid Scrolling Hell! What if you could learn how to master a paperless exam, even on the PT? I have answers for all three parts of the exam.
Let’s generate some points! I speak fluent repeater. I speak fluent paperless exam. And whatever your situation is, I can meet you where you are and help you get to wherever you need to go.
Let’s do something about it! Good luck tonight. If you need me, reach out. Now.
Hello everyone,
The Cal Bar updated their FAQ’s on October 30. Of relevance here is #20:
20. I have a disability that requires hard copy exam questions, but I will be using a laptop.
What should I do?
Applicants using a laptop will not have access to exam paper material regardless of
whether they test remotely or in-person. Applicants may request hard copy exam
material as an accommodation for a disability-related functional limitation by submitting
a testing accommodation request through the Applicant Portal. Please use the following
link to get more information about Testing Accommodations.
All applicants will have access or permission to access virtual scratch paper and an 8.25″
x 11″ dry-erase whiteboard for use during the examination. The whiteboard will be
subject to inspection, and larger sizes will not be permitted.
So, looks like you can get a whiteboard to use on the Cal Bar. 8-1/4 x 11 is way better than 2×2!
That said, I assume you must get it yourself. So that should mean you can get a whiteboard marker, an
eraser, and the whiteboard. Get one now so you can practice on it.
Still not perfect, of course. What if you need more than one page to complete your outline? And how do
you transfer that info? Is there a better way? YES. Want more information? Contact me and let’s talk about
a tutoring program!
And how is a one-page whiteboard going to help you on a PT, when you normally need 2-3 pages to do your
inventory of the Library? 2-3 pages for the inventory of the File? And 2-3 pages for the Outline? How does
the one-page whiteboard fix that? Want something better than a whiteboard? I HAVE ANSWERS! Contact me now.
Click here for the FAQ: https://www.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/0/documents/admissions/Examinations/February-2025-Bar-Exam-FAQs.pdf
Hello everyone.
Indeed the Supreme Court spoke. Things are changing in Cal Bar Land.
On October 10, the Supreme Court issued an order about the Blue Ribbon Commission’s proposal to change the California Bar Examination. Briefly:
When will this take effect, you ask? According to Bus. & Prof. Code section 6046.6(a), the Cal Bar can’t alter the bar examination that “requires the substantial modification of the training or preparation required for passage of the examination, except after giving two years’ notice of that change.”
So, this means that the February 2027 Cal Bar Exam (at the earliest) will incorporate these new changes. If you don’t want to take the new test, take the 2025 or 2026 exams.
Dispelling rumors: 1. Bus Org and Remedies are eligible to be tested in 2025 and 2026. They aren’t leaving the exam right now.
2. Does this mean Bus Org and Remedies will be tested more over the next two years since it’s leaving? NO. Unless both subjects are tested the next three consecutive exams, and then you can call me very surprised.
The Cal Bar will need to publish more specific information about the new exam, and I’ll address those updates as they become available.
Hello everyone,
Several updates for you.
The first update is that the Cal Bar approved applicants to take the Cal Bar from anywhere in the world – really! The only catch is that you must take the exam at the same time as everyone else for security purposes. So if you’re in England, if you’re willing to start your Cal Bar Exam at 5 pm local time… and finish your PT around 2 am the next day, you can do it!
The Cal Bar approved the remote proposal by an 8-3 vote on October 11.
Note this means remote testing, which means paperless exams… do you want to play around with that digital scratch pad? Or scrolling up and down endlessly? Welcome to SCROLLING HELL! Do you want that on the biggest testing days of your life? And how’s that PT going to go, juggling 16-18 pages of Library and File and moving notes from a digital scratch pad and… CHAOS!
Or do you want something better? A plan to AVOID SCROLLING HELL? Contact me now! I have solutions developed during the COVID era and you will feel so much less stressful on exam day. Get in touch and let’s talk about a 1-on-1 tutoring plan that works for you. Welcome to paperless exams, everyone. Now it’s time to CRUSH the remote California Bar!
Hello everyone,
Recently the Cal Bar posted the Cal Bar Experiment. Final year law students (3rd or 4th depending on your school) and anyone potentially repeating the Cal Bar in February or July 2025 may apply to participate.
Deadline to submit application to participate is October 13. Full information from the Cal Bar about the Experiment below.
NOTE: you must be registered with the Cal Bar as a law student (if you’re a repeater, you’re fine here). If you aren’t registered with the State Bar, register ASAP.
NOTE: acceptance isn’t guaranteed. You can apply, and they might accept everyone, or not.
I recommend all applicants apply to participate here. The Cal Bar wants students to prepare well and do their best so that the Cal Bar gets the best possible data for its exam. The horribly-timed November 8 date (hello, MPRE day and Bar Exam results day, anyone?!) means they won’t get the best data. Anyhow, the Cal Bar reserves the right to not grant extra points to people who don’t score “well enough”. Observations: if you pass the February 2025 exam on the first read, all of this is moot – you’re not getting extra points. And you don’t care, since you don’t need them.
But if you fail on the first read, and you score “well enough” (I read into this you didn’t tank it to just get the extra points), the Cal Bar will award up to 40 scaled points (enough to take a second read applicant to a passing score!). This is a game-changer, potentially, to those in the second read. If you score 1200 on the first read, this potential score boost (the Supreme Court must approve the Cal Bar’s petition, so it’s not a done deal yet) won’t help.
I recommend you try it. It’s 49 MBEs. They will give you 2 hours. You’ll get an early sense of whether the MBE will be any different from the NCBE questions of the past. My guess is that repeaters will think it’s not much different. Note Phase 2 is on the July 2025 exam (if approved) and that will be an essay or two and some MBEs on the day after your last day of your bar exam.
The State Bar of California is conducting the California Bar Exam Experiment designed to inform upcoming and possible future changes in how the bar exam is administered. Beginning in February 2025, the multiple-choice questions on the California Bar Exam will be developed by Kaplan Exam Services, LLC, and the exam will be delivered remotely and in person at test centers. The experiment includes two phases. Phase One will occur on November 8, 2024, and will test:
Phase Two will occur as a third day of the July 2025 California Bar Exam and will explore:
Note: The State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners has recommended to the California Supreme Court that a bar exam score adjustment be applied in 2025 for those who participate and perform well in one or both phases of the experiment. The proposal is currently pending before the Supreme Court and it is not yet approved.
Each phase of the experiment will require less than two hours of testing for standard test takers. Participation in the experiment will not impact an applicant’s eligibility to take the California Bar Exam, and there will be no penalty for poor performance on the experimental exam.
Below, you’ll learn about Phase One and how you can participate. Please view the California Bar Exam Experiment FAQ for more details. Additional information about Phase Two of the experiment will be released at a later date.
In August 2024, the State Bar finalized an agreement with Kaplan to independently develop questions for the California Bar Exam. The questions will replace the Multistate Bar Examination, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which will no longer be administered in California. This will allow the State Bar to make the bar exam available both remotely and in person at test centers starting with the February 2025 exam. Although the questions will be developed by Kaplan, the bar exam’s subject areas will remain the same, and the multiple-choice questions developed by Kaplan will not substantially modify the training or preparation required to pass the exam. The content and subject areas featured in the experiment are also the same as those on the bar exam. The purpose of Phase One is to field-test the Kaplan questions and the new remote and test center exam delivery vendor.
Phase One will feature a multiple-choice only exam held on November 8, 2024, and will require less than two hours of testing for standard test takers. Any applicant registered with the State Bar who intends to sit for the February or July 2025 bar exams, including third- and fourth-year law students and repeat bar exam takers, is eligible to apply to participate in Phase One.
There are limited spots available; the State Bar may allow all eligible applicants to participate or may randomly select from those who applied. Participants will also be asked whether they prefer to participate in the exam experiment remotely online on their own computer or in person at test centers where computers will be provided. Due to limited space, an applicant’s preference is not guaranteed.
The State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners has recommended to the Supreme Court that a bar exam score adjustment of up to 40 points be applied in 2025 for those who participate and perform well on the experimental exams. The purpose of the score adjustment is to ensure that participants are highly motivated to participate in the experiment in good faith and that the resulting data analysis will closely replicate an actual exam. There will be no penalty for those who do not score well in either phase of the experiment.
Note: The proposed scoring adjustment is still pending before the Supreme Court and is not yet approved.
To apply to participate in Phase One of the California Bar Exam Experiment, please fill out the California Bar Exam Experiment: Phase One Application.
The application for Phase One will close at 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 13, 2024. To be eligible, you must be registered with the State Bar and must submit a complete application. If you are not already registered, please do so immediately by visiting the Applicant Portal.
The State Bar will review registration requests as quickly as possible, but approval before Phase One of the experiment is not guaranteed.
The State Bar will process requests for testing accommodations for Phase One separate from the process for other exams. Applicants must submit a complete California Bar Exam Experiment: Phase One Application by 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 13, 2024. An approved testing accommodation for the California Bar Exam Experiment does not guarantee that the same accommodation will be granted for a future State Bar exam. The testing accommodation request process for the California Bar Exam Experiment is separate from the process for other State Bar exams. Please view the California Bar Exam Experiment FAQ for more information or contact the Office of Admissions at experimentalexam@calbar.ca.gov.
Hello everyone!
It is Results Day! Congratulations to those who passed tonight. For those who are eligible to take the Cal Bar in February 2024, my heart is with you. I failed twice before I passed, and I remember Results Day from July 1998 like it was yesterday. And that’s nearly 25 years to the day. Part of me died that day. But I found a way to pass, and I can help you do the same.
If you didn’t pass tonight, mourn the result. It’s a big event, and many of you didn’t think you would fail. But if that’s the case, let’s talk. Mourn your result. Dust yourself off. Put yourself together. And let’s generate some points.
Some days are going to be easier than others. As I learned when my Dad died in mid-July (he was 91), the sun will come up tomorrow. Promise. And some days are going to be easier than others. But if you want some help getting past this hurdle and moving on with the rest of your life, I can help. I have heard some amazing stories of people who passed tonight. And I will hear more. I look forward to helping you joining the pantheon of the passing.
YOU CAN DO THIS.
Let’s talk soon. Spaces are filling up. If you want to talk, please reach out now.
