Similar to licensure exams for doctors, certified public accountants, nurses and pilots, the purpose of the bar exam is to ensure that law school graduates are prepared to competently and ethically serve the public.
“It’s basically public protection and some sort of stamp of approval, if you will, for the public,” says Judith A. Gundersen, CEO and president of the not-for-profit National Conference of Bar Examiners, which develops bar exam content for 54 U.S. jurisdictions. “So the public can have confidence in a professional’s proven ability to show proficiency to represent them.”
For decades, there has been debate about whether the current bar exam — which relies heavily on memorization — actually measures competency for legal practice, says Marsha Griggs, associate professor of law and director of academic enrichment and bar passage at Washburn University School of Law in Kansas.
[READ: How to Assess Law School Bar Passage Rates When Choosing a School.]
In 2018, the NCBE’s board of trustees decided it was time to reevaluate the test, prompting development of the next generation of the bar exam. As part of the multiyear project, the board used focus groups and conversations with stakeholders to analyze the knowledge lawyers needed to successfully represent their clients, Gundersen says. This information was used to make changes to the current bar exam.
“For a lot of our clients, the work we do as lawyers is life or death,” says Hemanth C. Gundavaram, associate dean for experiential education at Northeastern University School of Law in Massachusetts and a volunteer for the development of NextGen content. “Whether your business stays open, whether you stay out of prison or whether you aren’t deported, there’s so many ways in which the work we do is so important. When I think of it that way, and tell students that, I think it’s an important thing to remember of why we have an entrance exam.”
Here’s what incoming law school students should know about the NextGen bar exam.
NextGen Bar Exam vs. Current Bar Exam
Compared to the current bar exam, the legal concepts and principles — including civil procedure, contract law, evidence, torts, business associations, constitutional law, criminal law and real property — will stay largely the same. The NextGen exam will not test subjects related to conflict of laws, family law, trusts and estates, or secured transactions. The difference is mostly in exam structure.
The current bar exam has three sections consisting of 200 multiple-choice, essay and performance test questions. But in the NextGen exam, test-takers will instead be given scenarios that have elements of different knowledge areas and skills. Multiple-choice, short-answer and essay questions are then tied to those scenarios.
Overall, the NextGen bar exam is more skills-based than reliant on memorization, which was a major point of stress for test-takers, experts say.
[READ: Q&A: Where Are Law Schools Headed?]
“I remember for me, that was one of the hardest parts of the exam,” says Gundavaram, who is also director of legal clinics and co-founder and director of Northeastern’s Immigrant Justice Clinic. “I don’t have a great memory. I think I’m a great lawyer and I don’t think you need to have a photographic memory to be a good lawyer.”
Another challenge with the current exam is length — it’s typically 12 hours, spread over two days. The goal is for the NextGen bar exam to be shorter and to ensure that test-takers have access to accommodations, if needed, Gundersen says.
The cost of taking the bar exam varies per jurisdiction and can often be a barrier for test-takers. NCBE officials have not stated the cost of the new exam, but say they are committed to keeping it “affordable for all.”
Additionally, the new exam will be completely computer-based, eliminating the current paper question booklet.
When Will NextGen Be Administered?
The Supreme Court or highest court in each jurisdiction will decide whether to adopt the NextGen exam, which can be administered as early as July 2026 following pilot testing and tweaks, according to the NCBE.
During the phased rollout, both the current and NextGen exams will be administered. And like the current bar, NextGen will be administered twice a year, in February and July.
Effect on Current Law School Curricula
Jon J. Lee, an associate professor of law at the University of Oklahoma College of Law and another volunteer for the development of NextGen content, says the changes will free up time for law schools to focus on skills courses because “currently there is a lot of doctrine that students must know for the bar exam.”
[Read: What Law School Applicants Should Know About the Bar Exam.]
“Some schools, at least, feel as though they need to cover all of that in their coursework,” he says. “And so with this change, this is an opportunity for law schools to think critically about the curriculum.”
There may be slight adjustments, but full curricular changes may not be necessary because most of the same topic knowledge is required, says Marilyn Wellington, chief strategy and operations officer at NCBE.
If curricular adjustments are needed, however, Griggs emphasizes that they should start with the 2023 incoming class, since those students would be the first graduates to take the new exam.
“The NCBE hasn’t fully informed us on what this test will entail. And I understand they are in their process of testing and vetting it,” she says. “So I’m sure they will once they have the information ready. … We have been trying to impress upon the NCBE the urgency of … giving us this information now so that we can make informed decisions for the benefit of students.”
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NextGen Bar Exam: What to Know originally appeared on usnews.com
