This article originally appeared in The Bar Examiner print edition, Fall 2022 (Vol. 91, No. 3), pp. 3–4.By Judith A. Gundersen
Back-to-School Season: Reflections and Looking Ahead
As I write this column, summer is winding down and many people on the NCBE team are getting ready to send their kids back to school. I used to love this time of year with my kids. Now that they’re well past their school days, I look forward to someday restarting this annual rite of passage when my grandkids are a little older. I always found the back-to-school push invigorating and exciting. And, where I grew up, it always came on the heels of our county fair, which was a highlight of my year (I know, but it’s the truth!). I do wonder, though—do parents still go to brick-and-mortar stores to buy paper, crayons, glue, and markers; or do they buy supplies online?
I suspect back-to-school shopping has changed just “a little” in the past 20 years, just as the practice of law and legal education have. Technology has been perhaps the most obvious driver of change, but other forces are also at work, including new perspectives on the importance of clinical legal education and skills training, proposed changes to ABA standards, and a shared, redoubled commitment to preparing law students to be leaders in a diverse profession and world.
Frequently now, changes are on my mind: How law school pedagogy and curriculum have changed beyond the 150-year-old Langdell casebook method of teaching, and how the bar exam has transformed over the course of the past half century. (Speaking of the past half century, this year marks 50 years since the transformative launch of the Multistate Bar Examination; see this timeline of milestones over the course of the MBE’s lifetime.)
In October, the University of Minnesota Law School held a symposium called “Reimagining Legal Education—Leaving Langdell Behind.” I presented at the symposium on October 7, along with Dr. Danette McKinley—NCBE’s Director of Diversity, Fairness, and Inclusion Research. We spoke about changes in lawyer licensure and admission processes, and we very much appreciated the opportunity to connect with legal educators. There are shared values of respect for the distinct roles of the legal regulator (courts and admissions boards) and the legal educator in preparing law students to enter the profession ready to serve clients, the profession, and society.
The July 2022 Exam
NCBE’s Research and Assessment team is in the thick of scaling for jurisdictions preparing to release their July 2022 exam scores. (As a reminder, scaling is a statistical procedure that puts essay or performance test scores on the same score scale as the MBE; despite the change in scale, the rank-ordering of individuals remains the same as it was on the original scale. For a good refresher on the topic, see “The Testing Column: Scaling, Revisited” in the Fall 2020 issue of the Bar Examiner.)
Several jurisdictions have already released their exam results. (See percentage pass rates as reported by each jurisdiction following release of their results.) The MBE mean for this administration was similar to last July, when the exam was administered both remotely and in person across the country due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The July 2022 administration represents the first large-scale return to in-person bar exams since February 2020. Every US jurisdiction administered the bar exam in person. For more information about the July results, see our news release at ncbex.org/news/july-2022-mbe/.
Educational Event for New Administrators
In September, we sponsored 15 new bar admission administrators (a new record for such an event) so they could come to our Madison offices for a day and a half of education and training on bar exam administration, test security, NCBE services, and orientation about the Council of Bar Admissions (CBAA) community. (See the summary of this event.) Jeff Shipley, Secretary and Director of the Maryland State Board of Law Examiners and chair of the CBAA, came to Madison to assist our team with this educational event. Several NCBE remote staff also came to Madison to ensure that new administrators were supported and had their questions answered.
Steady Progress on the Next Generation of the Bar Exam
Other events this fall center around the next generation of the bar exam. Our implementation work on the new bar exam is proceeding so quickly, it’s hard to keep up with all the milestones we are hitting, but here are a few: our first, proof-of-concept pilot test of new item formats took place in early August; plans for larger-scale pilot testing are well underway for a debut this fall; a drafting retreat is happening in early November; and we are about to select a test delivery partner. We have hired several new staff to work on the new exam and are putting a lot of effort into communicating with all of you—our stakeholders in admissions and legal education, examinees, and the public—about our progress. We truly value your input and feedback.
Speaking of the new exam, we thank all of you who have reached out to us for presentations in your jurisdictions. October through December are booked for jurisdiction outreach sessions. To those interested in scheduling such a session, please do not hesitate to reach out to us through your admissions staff. We’re currently scheduling presentations for the first quarter of 2023.
NCBE’s Board and Policy Committees
NCBE’s new Board year is underway, and we’ve already had some virtual meetings to get an early start on the charges that are before the policy committees. As many of you know, these committees are composed of bar examiners, justices, judges, admissions staff, and law faculty, who advise NCBE on everything from test content to diversity and inclusion initiatives. We are very grateful to the volunteers who make this critical committee work so meaningful and fruitful. (See the list of this year’s policy committee members.)
As the days get shorter, here in Madison we will do all we can to squeeze out any last drops of summer sun, but we are going into the fall season with enthusiasm and a “back-to-school” attitude that will animate our work. Wishing you all a happy and healthy fall season.
Until The next issue,
Judith A. Gundersen
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