Remember
when
the
National
Conference
of
Bar
Examiners
started
offering
law
grads
$1500
to
test
drive
their
new
NextGen
Bar
Exam?
That’s
all
well
and
good
when
you’re
a
“non-profit”
with
$151
million
or
so
in
net
assets
lying
around,
but
what
if
you’re
a
state
bar
writing
a
new
test
(because
you’re
broke
from
having
given
NCBE
all
those
millions
of
dollars
for
years)?
California
announced
that
they’d
cut
the
cord
with
NCBE
earlier
this
year
with
Kaplan
picking
up
the
task
of
preparing
a
licensing
exam
for
the
state.
The
longtime
bar
prep
company
has
to
leave
the
prep
business
in
California,
but
between
its
long-term
cheaper
test
and
providing
testing
locations
to
alleviate
the
burden
on
the
state
bar
to
rent
out
massive
venues
(with
no
heat!),
switching
to
Kaplan
should
get
the
state
bar’s
licensing
division
out
of
the
red.
But
in
the
meantime,
someone
needs
to
take
those
test
questions
and
California
doesn’t
have
$1500
a
head
lying
around.
Actual
extra
credit!
Telling
me
that
it
can
earn
an
additional
40
points
is
sort
of
like
discussing
temperature
in
celsius.
Is
40
a
lot?
A
little?
Well,
the
California
bar
is
traditionally
scored
out
of
2000
and
while
2
percent
may
not
seem
like
much
at
first
blush,
the
difference
between
automatically
passing
and
automatically
failing
was
a
mere
50
points
(the
gap
from
1440
to
1390),
so
40
points
can’t
alone
take
a
fail
to
pass,
but
it
can
get
a
fail
into
the
second
pass
read.
But
it’s
one
thing
to
make
extra
credit
available
to
everyone,
but
given
that
the
examiners
don’t
intend
to
grade
everyone’s
extra
credit,
they’ve
limited
participation
in
this
phase:
There
are
limited
spots
available;
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.
That
makes
the
extra
credit
significantly
more
shady.
Just
force
everyone
to
do
the
experimental
questions,
grade
a
sample
of
those,
and
move
on.
It
even
avoids
any
selection
bias
problems
that
might
come
up
when
relying
on
people
choosing
to
opt
into
an
experiment.
It
sucks
for
the
graduates
having
to
waste
time
fretting
about
a
question
that
doesn’t
count,
but
it’s
better
than
arbitrarily
giving
one
applicant
access
to
points
that
could
earn
them
a
license
and
denying
that
opportunity
to
a
similarly
situated
applicant.
Earlier:
Would
You
Take
The
Bar
If
They
Paid
You
Like
A
4th
Year
Associate?
NCBE
Messed
Up,
Bro,
California
Kicked
Them
Out
Of
The
Bar
Kaplan
Steps
In
To
Dig
California
Bar
Office
Out
Of
Bankruptcy
Hole