Uniform Bar Examination
54% of jurisdictions have adopted the UBE.
30 of the 56 U.S. jurisdictions have adopted the UBE, which results in a portable score that can be used to apply for admission in other UBE jurisdictions.
12 of the 30 UBE jurisdictions have decided to require completion of a jurisdiction-specific component prior to admission.
40% of UBE jurisdictions require completion of a jurisdiction-specific component prior to admission.
What is a UBE jurisdiction-specific component?
A jurisdiction-specific component is a separate test, course, or some combination of the two that is administered by a UBE jurisdiction to assess candidate knowledge of jurisdiction-specific law. Examples of such components administered by UBE jurisdictions include a live course, an online course, or an online open-book multiple-choice test.
Jurisdictions that administer the UBE maintain the following decisions:
- Establishing their requirements for admission
- Setting their passing scores
- Grading the MEE and MPT
- Setting their maximum age for transferred UBE scores
- Making character and fitness decisions
- Making testing accommodation decisions
- Administering a separate jurisdiction-specific law component if they deem necessary
79% of UBE jurisdictions have passing scores at 260, 266, or 270.
23 of the 29 UBE jurisdictions whose passing scores have been determined have set their passing scores at 260, 266, or 270 within the 260–280 UBE passing score range.*
*The passing score in Maryland has not yet been determined.
See more about the UBE in this issue’s 2017 Statistics section.
February 2018 MEE/MPT Grading Workshop
429 graders from 39 jurisdictions participated in NCBE’s MEE/MPT Grading Workshop the weekend after the February 2018 exam.
46 graders participated in person, 119 by conference call, and 235 by registering to view on-demand videos. Additionally, 29 non-attendee graders accessed the items and grading materials for their own jurisdictions’ grading processes.
The reading, grading, and discussion of actual examinee answers during the Grading Workshop under the guidance of NCBE’s experienced Grading Workshop facilitators prepares graders for grading their own jurisdictions’ papers by
- familiarizing them with the questions and grading materials,
- identifying answer trends,
- refining grading weights,
- discussing with other graders how to resolve grading issues, and
- getting a head start on calibration (the development of coherent and identifiable grading judgments so that rank ordering is consistent throughout the grading process as well as across multiple graders).
- The workshop begins with a grading fundamentals presentation by NCBE Testing staff members with expertise in educational measurement and psychometrics.
For more about NCBE’s Grading Workshop, see “Behind the Scenes at NCBE’s Grading Workshop: A Photo Essay” from the September 2017 Bar Examiner.
See more about the February 2018 MEE/MPT Grading Workshop in this issue’s News & Events.
