News Releases

State Bar Free Online Stress Reduction Program Increases Bar Scores, Helps Over 1,000 Applicants Pass

Strategies and Stories, a free online program designed to support law students with stress-reduction strategies before taking the California Bar Exam, has helped over 1,000 applicants to achieve a passing score over the last six years. That’s the conclusion of a study presented to the State Bar’s Committee of Bar Examiners Friday by partner firm The Equity Accelerator (EA).   

Dr. Victor D. Quintanilla, who leads EA’s project team, also reported that during the past six years, the program’s impact was equity-enhancing: 741 structurally disadvantaged applicants (applicants of color and first-generation college students) who enrolled in Strategies and Stories passed the bar exam who otherwise would not have.  

The short online program is designed to help law students deal productively with concerns about failure, belonging, and stress and spur motivation as well as performance. It seeks to improve bar applicants’ test-taking experiences and exam performance. 

“While there are bar exam prep programs that smartly focus on exam content, Strategies and Stories helps law students overcome the stress associated with the test and achieve a more positive and productive mindset heading into the exam,” said Leah Wilson, State Bar Executive Director. “This results in not only higher scores, but also healthy stress and well-being strategies that will benefit these new lawyers throughout their lives and careers.” 

Over the program’s six years, Strategies and Stories has been especially effective for first-generation students and applicants of color, lifting total bar scores by approximately 21 points on average.  

In total, EA estimates that the combination of the Strategies and Stories intervention and the Supreme Court’s changing the cut score on the bar exam from 1440 to 1390 has resulted in over 1,000 program participants passing the bar exam who otherwise would not have. 

The program is again being offered to applicants taking the July 2024 bar exam. 

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