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The In-Person Bar Exam is Returning

The bar exam will soon return to in-person testing.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners, which develops the bar exams, announced last week that starting in February 2022, all test materials will be available only to jurisdictions in an in-person form, Law.com reports.

“Remote exams have been a valuable stopgap for jurisdictions during this time, allowing examinees to take the test without having to gather in a larger group,” Beth Hill, the national conference’s director of test development, operations, and security in an announcement of the move, tells Law.com. “However, remote exams create challenges for exam security and uniformity, and for this reason, we have consistently advocated for in-person testing as the best option whenever possible.”

JURISDICTIONS CURRENTLY VARY

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a number of states to move the bar exam online over public health concerns.

29 jurisdictions, according to the National Conference, still plan to give remote exams next month including California, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania. On the other hand, 24 jurisdictions including Texas, Minnesota and Virginia, plan to give in-person exams in July.

Jurisdictions will ultimately have the final say over whether to administer the exam in-person or online. With each state differing in public health regulations and vaccine administration for COVID-19, the National Conference says it will work with individual jurisdictions on exam rollouts.

“Although conditions appear to be improving, [the National Conference] recognizes that any jurisdiction’s public health authority may establish that candidates cannot test in person,” Hill tells Law.com. “Should that occur, we are committed to working with that jurisdiction on a solution that will enable its candidates to take the bar exam.”

Sources: Law.com, ABA Journal, Bloomberg Law

 

 

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