US EditionState Bar’s botched exam for new lawyers is California’s latest entry to the hall of shame
- The State Bar of California administered a botched new lawyers exam in February 2025, which Measure Learning oversaw and led to widespread failures.
- The exam experienced significant issues after the testing authority implemented a new format featuring AI-generated questions without informing candidates, leading to platform malfunctions and user difficulties.
- Applicants faced repeated platform crashes, inability to copy-paste, screen lags, and error messages, prompting public and judicial disputes over exam results and remedial actions.
- With the Supreme Court lowering passing scores, 55.9% passed the February exam, producing 2,436 new lawyers, while State Bar executives including director Leah T. Wilson apologized and announced her July resignation.
- This exam failure adds to California's ongoing managerial failures exemplified by past state system breakdowns, raising concerns over bureaucratic competence in implementing critical reforms.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Bar exam screwup just latest entry in state’s hall of shame
Is there something in California’s water that induces the state’s bureaucrats to make boneheaded errors of judgment? It would seem so, given the sorry history of monumental screwups. Many of the state government’s wrongheaded actions involve abortive efforts to use advanced technology. The poster child for those high-tech basket cases has been Financial Information System for California, dubbed FI$Cal, which was supposed to be a comprehensive fi…
Daily Bulletin
State Bar’s botched exam for new lawyers is California’s latest entry to the hall of shame
Is there something in California’s water that induces the state’s bureaucrats to make boneheaded errors of judgment? It would seem so, given the sorry history of monumental screwups. Many of the state government’s wrongheaded actions involve abortive efforts to use advanced technology. The poster child for those high-tech basket cases has been Financial Information System for California, dubbed FI$Cal, which was supposed to be a comprehensive fi…
After A.I. bar exam fiasco, State Bar of California faces deeper financial crisis
The State Bar expects to pay around $5.6 million to offer free exams to test takers, book in-person testing sites and return the exam to its traditional system of questions for its July test.
California Bar Exam Vendor Sued Over Botched Test Rollout
The State Bar of California Targets Meazure Learning After Widespread Exam Failures The California Bar’s already embattled reputation has taken another dramatic turn. After a disastrous rollout of a new bar exam format earlier this year, the State Bar of California has filed a lawsuit against Meazure Learning—the vendor contracted to administer the February 2025 exam. The litigation comes after thousands of test-takers encountered severe technic…
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