Hello everyone!

Today I found something that I wanted to share with you. Like most of you reading this, I’m no expert on the COVID. I’m a lawyer and a tutor, and not a scientist, and I sure as hell am not Scott Atlas.

I found an analysis in National Geographic, November 2020 issue, at 34. It shows that potential emergency authorization would begin January 2021 for a vaccine to be distributed to high risk groups such as first responders and the elderly. Then the potential approval of wide-scale distribution of a vaccine may take place in September 2021, and that’s what the authors call an “ambitious scenario.” Sadly I can’t seem to copy the graphic here so you’ll have to go on the written description here.

If the graphic is anywhere near accurate then it would seem that the July 2021 Bar Exam will be online, and that the February 2022 Bar Exam would be at least 50/50 to be online as well. Again, I’m no scientist and curves can flatten over time due to external circumstances. But at least as of October 28, 2020, that’s what I’m seeing.

Note the interesting stuff:

1) the NCBE will equate the MBE, so that means that states like California don’t need the psychometrician or whoever they used to help make the MBE a reality for October 2020, and

2) Do we have 100 questions again for Feb. 2021? Or 200? Nobody knows. We shall see!

3) 3 states have already signed up for the online option (NY, Connecticut, and one other).

From the NCBE’s site:

NCBE Announces Initial Plans for Remote Option for February 2021 Bar Exam

NCBE today announced initial plans that will allow jurisdictions the option to provide the bar exam remotely in February 2021, since challenges related to COVID-19 will likely still be present next year. More details will be provided in the coming weeks.

To provide flexibility to jurisdictions and candidates as we all continue to navigate the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, NCBE plans to make a full set of bar exam materials available for a remote administration in February 2021 to be held on the same dates as the in-person administration (February 23–24, 2021). Each jurisdiction will select which mode it will use for its administration.

NCBE plans to equate the MBE, calculate scaled scores for the written components, and provide UBE and MBE score transfer services for both the in-person and the remote administrations.

Additional details will be announced in the next few weeks as jurisdictions and NCBE complete their review of the October remote administration, which was the first time the bar exam has been given to candidates testing in their own environments using their own computers.