This article originally appeared in The Bar Examiner print edition, Summer 2025 (Vol. 94, No. 2), pp. 4–5.By Judith A. Gundersen
I’m writing this column between attending several meetings and conferences in May, beginning with our Annual Bar Admissions Conference in Seattle, where we hosted 375 bar examiners, justices, bar admissions staff, speakers, and guests. Programming themes included AI and how it has the potential to affect just about everything in the legal profession, from legal education to licensure to practice. We also offered robust programming on bar exam–related research initiatives, character and fitness trends, the NextGen UBE, and test accommodations, to name a few. We also honored longtime New Hampshire bar examiner Fred Coolbroth as the inaugural recipient of the Diane F. Bosse Award for Excellence and Service in Bar Admissions (click here). It was an inspiring ceremony for all in attendance.
NextGen UBE Standard Setting
A week later, NCBE hosted the NextGen Standard-Setting Study in Chicago. The Standard-Setting Study provided NCBE with important data to help advise jurisdictions on where to set their NextGen UBE passing standard (NextGen scores will be reported on a new score scale, distinct from the legacy UBE’s) and to set the concordance between the current exam passing standard and the new NextGen scale. Eighty-four panelists from 40 jurisdictions participated. Panelists included newly admitted lawyers, law faculty, bar examiners, graders, judges, and justices. Their involvement will help achieve a balanced and fair assessment system that benefits both aspiring lawyers and the broader legal community.
Setting appropriate passing scores is crucial for maintaining the integrity and quality of the bar admissions process, ensuring that those who possess the necessary knowledge and skills are licensed and not denying any who demonstrate minimal competence. Over the course of two and a half days, panelists reviewed current scoring methodologies, discussed best practices, and considered various perspectives to arrive at a definition of minimal competence and a set of performance ratings.
NCBE psychometricians led the standard-setting exercise but were assisted by a measurement and psychometric firm with applicable experience. The firm documented panelist recommendations in a technical report for the Implementation Steering Committee / Passing Score Advisory Panel, which will recommend a passing standard to jurisdictions based on the Standard-Setting Study and the concordance study results.
ABA Section Council Meeting and Data Reporting
And in between those two NCBE meetings, I was a guest at the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar meeting. The topic for NCBE and other invited affiliates was data—the data that NCBE collects and the Council data we access, such as annual enrollment figures and bar passage statistics. It was a very good discussion, and I think we all came away with ideas for possible research avenues and collaborative reporting to help us better serve interested constituencies in the legal community. As I prepared to share NCBE’s perspective on data, I was struck by how important our NextGen database enhancements will be in facilitating data collection, analysis, and greater transparency about bar exam performance trends and candidate information. We always seek to improve our data-reporting and clearinghouse functions for jurisdictions, law schools, and candidates.
NextGen UBE Developments
In addition to database enhancements, many other NextGen milestones are coming before the end of 2025, including completing internal and external-facing systems, pretesting test content, putting delivery and grading systems through stress tests, and publishing study aids and final content scope outlines. We are mindful of the trust that jurisdiction admissions boards, offices, courts, candidates, and law schools have placed in us. Everything we do is meant to set up all stakeholders for success with the NextGen UBE. We are particularly dedicated to candidates and continue to do all we can to ensure they are well prepared by providing information directly to them and via their law schools. We are grateful to legal education association groups that include us in their programming, as this allows us to connect with faculty and staff who help prepare their students for bar exam success. We also offer our own educational events for legal educators and have two planned for summer. Further NextGen outreach includes presenting with West Publishing in June to law schools in jurisdictions administering the debut July 2026 NextGen exam. Finally, we have a program for associate deans in July and several panels at the Southeastern Association of Law Schools annual conference late that month.
As we look to summer here in Madison, we are gearing up not only for the coming July exam and the August MPRE, but also for more NextGen systems vetting and testing. We just had our first in-person meeting with the newly constituted Family Law Review Committee; I’m happy to report that 86 items are in the pipeline for testing before this foundational concept area goes live in July 2028. Test development is not a swift endeavor, but we place a premium on expert-crafted, quality items that are refined through review, testing, and statistical item analysis.
Wishing you all a good summer. And to those candidates who sat for the bar exam in July, I wish you the best of luck as you await your exam results.
Until the next issue,
Judith A. Gundersen
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