The State Bar of California is on the verge of rejecting the national bar exam, a decision driven by a desire to manage its budget prudently.

The State Bar of California Board of Trustees is set to consider an agreement allowing California, with the assistance of Kaplan North America LLC, to develop and administer its own bar exam. This would replace the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ (NCBE) test or the incoming NextGen exam.

The decision comes after state bar staff explored the prospect of transitioning to an alternative, cost-effective exam administration approach. This could potentially involve a fully remote online exam, beginning with the February 2025 bar exam administration. The Committee of Bar Examiners then voted in April to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the state bar retain a new vendor to develop bar exam questions to replace the current MBE.

The Bar Seeks $1.475M for the Development of the Exam

During the upcoming meeting, the bar will seek authorization for the board chair and the Executive Director to finalize negotiations and enter into an agreement of a maximum of $1.475M annually for five years. This agreement is being negotiated between the state bar and Kaplan, for the development of multiple-choice, essays, and performance test questions for the California Bar Exam.

The Financial Implications of the Bar Exam

While exam development costs are anticipated to increase initially, the transition will facilitate significant overall savings through the adoption of alternative exam administration approaches. The “as-is” cost of bar exam question development and administration in 2025 will total approximately $8.4M while the cost of purchasing multiple-choice questions from the NCBE and exam development is roughly $1M annually.

The NCBE respects the role of each state’s admission authority to determine that state’s licensure standards. Sophie Martin, NCBE’s director of communications, stated they will continue to support California, its applicants, and its law schools however they can.

The Future of Exam Administration

The State Bar of California is also exploring vendors that could provide the option of administering the bar fully remote or by hybrid administration. A fully remote administration approach would alleviate costly and labor-intensive tasks such as securing and managing large exam facilities and the recruitment and compensation of proctors. However, Martin noted that the NCBE administers the MBE as a paper-and-pencil exam in 54 jurisdictions.

Martin also noted that although California is not a UBE jurisdiction, 12 jurisdictions currently accept transferred MBE scores from California candidates who wish to be licensed in those jurisdictions. Therefore, this score portability would be lost if California stopped offering the MBE.

The NextGen Bar Exam

The NextGen bar exam, which the NCBE plans to launch with the July 2026 administration, is the product of the input of more than 15,000 U.S. attorneys, judges, justices, and legal educators. Currently, 17 U.S. states have adopted the NextGen bar exam. However, the State Bar of Nevada has also indicated a desire to transition away from the MBE.

The State Bar of California’s decision to reject the national bar exam and develop its own could have significant implications for the future of bar exams in the United States. It represents a shift towards more cost-effective and independent approaches to licensing tests. However, the success of this initiative will depend on the effectiveness of the new exam and its acceptance by other jurisdictions.