Hello everyone.

Seismic change for the exam!

Here’s what we know. The next Cal Bar Exam will take place on October 5-6. It’ll be online. What they didn’t say (but what is true according to an NCBE email and the statements of DC, MD, PA, TN, AZ, and TX) is that the MBE will be 100 questions. 50 questions in 90 minutes. Then 15 minute break. Then 50 questions in 90 minutes.

Not sure what changed the minds of the Cal Supreme Court justices, who said there was no reason to change the cut score not that long ago (and this was after even the Cal Bar advocated lowering the cut score). But I’m certain nobody is complaining. So 1390 means what? It means that you will likely need a 60% to barely pass on the first read, not 62-63% (which is what the pass line effectively was since 2007), and not 66-67% (which is what the pass line effectively was prior to 2007). Basically you can miss one more minor issue and still pass.

More significantly, on a 200 question MBE exam, that would mean you could miss 5 more MBE’s and still be OK (i.e., 120 instead of 124-125).

It’s a different day, folks! Let’s generate some points!