The State Bar of California is conducting the California Bar Exam Experiment designed to inform upcoming and possible future changes in how the bar exam is administered. Beginning in February 2025, the multiple-choice questions on the California Bar Exam will be developed by Kaplan Exam Services, LLC, and the exam will be delivered remotely and in person at test centers. The experiment includes two phases. Phase One will occur on November 8 and November 9, 2024, and will test:
Phase Two will occur as a third day of the July 2025 California Bar Exam and will explore:
Each phase of the experiment will require less than two hours of testing for standard test takers. Participation in the experiment will not impact an applicant’s eligibility to take the California Bar Exam, and there will be no penalty for poor performance on the experimental exam.
Below, you'll learn about Phase One. Please view the California Bar Exam Experiment FAQ for more details. Additional information about Phase Two of the experiment will be released at a later date.
In August 2024, the State Bar finalized an agreement with Kaplan to independently develop questions for the California Bar Exam. The questions will replace the Multistate Bar Examination, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which will no longer be administered in California. This will allow the State Bar to make the bar exam available both remotely and in person at test centers starting with the February 2025 exam. Although the questions will be developed by Kaplan, the bar exam's subject areas will remain the same, and the multiple-choice questions developed by Kaplan will not substantially modify the training or preparation required to pass the exam. The content and subject areas featured in the experiment are also the same as those on the bar exam. The purpose of Phase One is to field-test the Kaplan questions and the new remote and test center exam delivery vendor.
Phase One will feature a multiple-choice only exam and will require less than two hours of testing for standard test takers. Any applicant registered with the State Bar who intends to sit for the February or July 2025 bar exams, including third- and fourth-year law students and repeat bar exam takers, is eligible to apply to participate in Phase One. Disbarred attorneys are not eligible.
Applicants selected to participate in the experiment will receive a notification to schedule an experimental exam session that is less than two hours for either Friday, November 8 or Saturday, November 9, 2024. There are limited spots available for each day; the State Bar may allow all eligible applicants to participate or may randomly select from those who applied. Participants will also be asked whether they prefer to participate in the exam experiment remotely online on their own computer or in person at test centers where computers will be provided. Due to limited space, an applicant’s preference is not guaranteed.
On October 22, 2024, the Supreme Court of California approved in part and denied in part the State Bar’s recommendations regarding a score adjustment for those who participate and perform well in one or both phases of the experiment. Specifically, the Court approved that participants in Phase One of the experiment who reach a minimum threshold performance score will be eligible to receive a scaled score adjustment on the multiple-choice portion of the General Bar Exam on whichever 2025 General Bar Exam they attempt first. The Committee of Bar Examiners will determine the minimum threshold performance score and the scaled score adjustment, which will not exceed one standard error of measurement of the participant’s total scaled score for the multiple-choice portion of the applicable General Bar Exam. The Court denied the request for a scoring adjustment for Phase Two without prejudice. Please review the Court’s order for additional information.
The application to participate in Phase One of the California Bar Exam Experiment closed at 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 14, 2024.
Please see the Policies and Prohibited Items Bulletin for Phase One of the experiment for detailed instructions and policies for the experimental exam. Please review the bulletin thoroughly to ensure you are fully prepared for exam day; the bulletin covers the following topics:
Please review the bulletin thoroughly to ensure you are fully prepared for exam day.
The State Bar is working with Meazure Learning to deliver the experimental exam remotely and in person at local test centers. Meazure Learning is emailing each participant with personalized step-by-step instructions and other important information as well.