February 2025 Cal Bar Exam update – Cal Supreme Court Speaks
Hello everyone,
The Cal Supreme Court spoke recently and denied, without prejudice, the State Bar’s petition for modifications to the February 2025 bar exam.
This was NOT a decision on the merits of the future of the Cal Bar. The Supreme Court merely said that the Cal Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners must first approve the proposed modifications before making a formal petition to the Cal Supreme Court to request approval.
Remember, this is all about money, so the Cal Bar is quite motivated to act. In fact, the Committee of Bar Examiners has already put this approval on its agenda for its next meeting, nary a week away, on September 30.
Watch this space. Do remember that nothing exists until it does. Evidently the Cal Supreme Court knows about what the Cal Bar is up to, and hasn’t said no in a meaningful way to anything yet.
As of now, the betting money is still on the Bar Exam Experiment occurring on November 8, Kaplan’s MBE questions appearing on the February 2025 exam, and with administration of the exam remotely and at small test centers (i.e., Pearson View and Prometric type sites).
Also watch out for the October 1 announcement of the February 2025 exam. More information should be revealed then, as well as when the Cal Supreme Court responds to the Cal Bar’s next petition.
One more thing to gum up the works (potentially): where is the NCBE’s copyright infringement suit? Are they just waiting until the Cal Bar’s announcement of the February 2025 exam? Or the Supreme Court’s approval of the Cal Bar’s petition to modify the February 2025 exam? We shall see what we shall see.
The Cal Bar’s “Notice to those intending to take the February 2025 exam” appears below:
September 19, 2024, update
The agenda for the September 30 Committee of Bar Examiners meeting is now posted. Please see the agenda for public comment procedures and for the Zoom link to observe the meeting.
September 18, 2024, update
The California Supreme Court today denied, without prejudice, the State Bar’s petition proposing modifications to the February 2025 bar exam, which included:
- Intent to replace the multiple-choice questions provided by the NCBE with questions developed by a new vendor, and
- Intent to change modalities to administer the exam remotely and in person at small test centers.
As we read today’s order, before the State Bar brings the proposed modifications back to the Supreme Court, it must first seek the formal approval of the Committee of Bar Examiners on the proposed modifications to the California Bar Exam.
The State Bar plans to move forward as quickly as possible to secure the needed approval. The Committee of Bar Examiners is scheduled to meet on September 30; an agenda will be posted on our Public Meetings portal no later than September 20. The State Bar will file a petition as quickly as possible after the CBE meeting and adjust plans as needed in accordance with the Court’s direction.
At this point, the State Bar still intends to launch the February 2025 bar exam application on October 1, 2024.
- Applicants will have the option to state their preference for a remote or in person exam.
- With the understanding that the testing venue may change pending approval by the Supreme Court, the State Bar will notify applicants as the details are finalized.
- Those who applied to participate in the November 8, 2024, Bar Exam Experiment will also receive notification of any changes. The Court’s order did not impact the petition regarding the scoring incentive related to the November experiment, which is still pending with the Court.
Background
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 (NCBE).
The Committee of Bar Examiners discussed these changes at its March and April 2024 meetings and recommended that the State Bar retain a new vendor to develop the multiple-choice questions for the California Bar Exam, so that the State Bar can pursue alternative, cost-effective bar exam administration approaches that applicants prefer. This contract 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, assuming the plan is approved by the Supreme Court.
The multiple-choice questions developed by Kaplan will not substantially modify the training or preparation required to pass the exam. The bar exam will cover the same subject areas and continue to have 200 multiple-choice questions, five one-hour essay questions, and one 90-minute Performance Test. Applicants should prepare for the exam as they always have.
