Auditor: California bar exam changes were 'poorly implemented'

(CN) — A new report by the California State Auditor found changes made to the bar exam in 2025 were “poorly implemented, and had a “a negative effect on test takers.”

That might be something of an understatement. The February 2025 bar exam was widely seen as a debacle, riddled with technical difficulties. According to the audit, a “a significant portion of the 4,200 individuals” who took the test experienced problems, including computer crashes, freezes and error messages. Things went so bad that the bar had to offer students a chance to retake the exam and adjust scores upward, resulting in an unusually high 64% passing rate.

Once a two-day in-person test, the bar exam was taken remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2024, the state bar decided to move to a “hybrid model,” offering students a choice to take the exam either in person or remotely. The bar hoped the move would save millions of dollars.

In the past, the California bar used questions from the National Conference of Bar Examiners. But that organization does not allow its questions to be used remotely. So the bar hired a handful of vendors to write and review questions for the new test. According to the audit, the state bar dragged its feet on the search process. When it finally signed a deal with Kaplan, the enormous education services company only had six months to write the questions.

“The state bar’s contract with Kaplan also did not specify the topics needed for the February 2025 bar exam,” the auditor wrote in the report. “Thus, the questions Kaplan eventually developed did not cover certain important legal topics required for the exam.”

That meant the bar had to hire another vendor, ACS Ventures, which used artificial intelligence to write its questions. The state bar’s executive leadership was kept in the dark about the use of AI before the test.

Perhaps the biggest issue was with a third vendor, Meazure Learning, which the bar hired to remotely administer the exam.

“Although the state bar took some steps to assess Meazure Learning’s remote platform and test centers, it did not verify that Meazure Learning corrected the problems it identified in its assessment,” the auditor wrote. “It did not ensure that Meazure Learning addressed the causes of freezes, crashes, and error messages that test takers faced during a pretest in November 2024.”

In May 2025, the state sued Meazure over breach of contract, fraudulent concealment and negligent misrepresentation.

“On exam day, chaos ensued,” the bar wrote in its complaint, filed in LA Superior Court. “Remote and in-person test takers could not enter Meazure’s platform without significant delays, and once they were in the platform, they often were unable to submit responses, and experienced frequent crashing and freezing.” Students were unable to use basic word processing or copy/paste and highlighting functions. “Meazure’s faulty testing platform and its poor administration of the Bar Exam wreakedhavoc at an already stressful time for test takers.”

In a written response to the audit included in the report, the state bar acknowledged “the significant and unacceptable experiences that test takers faced in the lead up to and during the February 2025 bar exam administration.” Though it takes issue with certain findings, it agrees with the recommendations, including the key one: adopting the new test designed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, called the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam, which will be rolled out in 2028.

The California bar had hoped the changes it made to last year’s exam would save $3.8 million. Instead, the February exam cost “$5.1 million, not including the costs of pending legal matters,” according to the audit. “In addition, the state bar experienced at least $4 million in lost revenue as a result of remedies it provided to February 2025 test takers, including exam refunds and fee waivers.”

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