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Bar Exam Performance Intervention Shows Promising Results

An online learning program designed to help applicants navigate the challenges they face when preparing for the California Bar Exam is showing promising results, measurably increasing the likelihood of passing the exam, a two-year analysis indicates. The State Bar is again offering the free program to October 2020 bar exam applicants.

Researchers found that the California Bar Exam Strategies and Stories Program increased the likelihood of participants passing the bar exam ranging between 6.8 to 9.6 percentage points, controlling for other factors. The impact was even higher for applicants in disadvantaged groups, including those in underrepresented racial/ethnic populations and those who are first-generation college students.

“We are excited by these preliminary results from the first two years of this study,” said Donna Hershkowitz, Interim Executive Director. “This program has been and continues to be one of the ways that we are addressing the legitimate concern about low bar pass rates in California. We believe that the program will be even more valuable this year as we move forward under the Supreme Court’s direction with the online exam and lowered cut score.”

Developed by the State Bar in conjunction with a team of law and psychology researchers from Indiana University, University of Southern California, and Stanford University, the program is designed to help students deal with challenges that can affect all students studying for the bar exam. The program helps enhance test-takers’ adaptive mindsets, which may be especially important in the immediate future as applicants face uncertainty and challenges associated with COVID-19.

The online program includes an introductory film, stories from prior test-takers, and a writing activity in which participants share insights and strategies that may be useful to them and to future test takers. The team used surveys and focus groups of recent California Bar Exam participants to develop the program’s content.

First offered to applicants studying for the July 2018 bar exam, the program was repeated for the July 2019 bar exam. Several hundred test-takers have completed the program, and this year’s cohort will enlarge the sample size on which researchers can confirm the results. The study was supported by funding from AccessLex Institute.

Online registration for the California Bar Exam Strategies and Stories Program is available until July 31 to all registrants for the October bar exam.

Additional information:

California Bar Exam Strategies and Stories Program
Bar Exam Studies by the State Bar
Mindsets in Legal Education Executive Summary

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The State Bar of California's mission is to protect the public and includes the primary functions of licensing, regulation and discipline of attorneys; the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and support of efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.