We
all
knew
that
this
administration
of the
California
bar
exam
would
be
a
disaster.
We
just
didn’t
know
how
bad
it
would
get.
The
answer
—
as
Clemenza
put
in
The
Godfather
—
pretty
goddamn
bad.
The
new
test
employing
Kaplan
questions
and
administered
by
Meazure
Learning
suffered
setback
after
setback
in
the
lead
up
to
the
test,
prompting
the
bar
examiners
to
preemptively offer
refunds and
then
a
free
retake.
Were
they
overreacting?
Friends,
they
were
not.
Trouble
began
right
out
of
the
gate,
with
candidates
reporting
start
times
delayed
by
over
an
hour.
Then
came
the
blank
exam
pages,
the
copy/paste
function
breaking,
people
getting
the
same
question
twice,
and
the
software
failing
to
accurately
capture
every
keystroke.
Given
everything
that
happened
and
having
crammed
every
tort
concept
into
their
heads
for
the
last
several
months,
more
than
a
few
test-takers
are
thinking
a
free
retake
might
not
be
the
proper
remedy.
Knock
it
if
you
must,
but
Boeing
has
made
a
whole
business
out
of
this.
The
technical
issues
with
the
test
somehow
managed
to
top
the
COVID-era
bar
exam
debacle
and
those
are
words
no
one
expected
to
string
together.
We
embarked
on
remote
living
five
years
ago…
how
does
this
still
happen?
At
least
this
candidate
knew
that
the
test
got
through?
Several
other
Reddit
posts
claim
the
system
wouldn’t
acknowledge
their
submissions
one
way
or
the
other.
Some
noted
that
the
test
didn’t
show
up
under
the
“History”
tab
after
the
fact.
In
fairness,
epic
proctoring
failures
aren’t
unique
to
this
one.
The
old
exam
process
flagged
a
third
of
all
applicants
as
cheaters
because
the
proctors
needed
proctologists
to
retrieve
their
heads.
But,
again,
it’s
been
five
years.
How
is
there
not
a
better
process
for
remote
exams
after
half
a
decade?
The
only
thing
worse
than
the
remote
proctoring
might’ve
been
in
the
in-person
proctoring
where
posts
complained
of
prohibited
materials
in
the
exam
room
and
allowed
materials
getting
barred.
There
was
confusion
over
bathroom
policies
at
some
venues.
And
what
even
is
this?
Just
failures
all
around.
But
late
yesterday,
the
bar
examiners
delivered
the
“good”
news
for
screwed-over
applicants
that
they
don’t
necessarily
have
to
wait
until
July
to
take
the
test
again!
The
first
day
of
the
bar
exam
is
over,
and
congratulations
to
those
of
you
who
had
a
successful
day.We
know
that
many
of
you,
however,
faced
significant
technical
and
customer
service
challenges,
and
for
that
we
are
truly
sorry.
These
technical
and
support
issues
were
and
are
unacceptable.
Ensuring
a
fair
and
reliable
exam
experience
is
our
top
priority,
and
we
are
actively
evaluating
next
steps.In
advance
of
the
exam,
the
State
Bar
took
measures
to
ensure
that
a
makeup
opportunity
would
be
available,
if
needed,
for
applicants
who
experienced
significant
technical
issues.
As
such,
we
had
already
planned
to
offer
a
makeup
opportunity
on
March
3
and
4
for
those
of
you
who
had
experienced
technical
issues
beyond
your
control
and
were
unable
to
connect
to
the
platform
and
launch
the
exam
as
well
as
for
those
who
were
unable
to
complete
the
exam.
Already.
Planned.
On
the
one
hand,
it’s
nice
that
the
bar
exam
considered
the
possibility
of
mass
disaster
and
came
up
with
a
solution.
On
the
other
hand,
it’s
a
stupid
solution.
Yes.
Either
they’re
asking
different
questions
which
compromises
the
result
or
they’re
asking
the
same
questions
and
everyone
has
a
week
to
prepare.
At
least
there’s
another
day
of
this.
Surely
nothing’s
going
wrong
today!
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.