July 19 (Reuters) - Anticipation surrounding the new bar exam, scheduled to be launched in July 2026, intensified when the organization behind its development released a preview of sample questions last week. However, the initial responses from legal educators have been far from unanimous, with some expressing disappointment and others seeing it as a step in the right direction.
While the National Conference of Bar Examiners has been working on the Next Gen bar exam since early 2021, it's recent unveiling of eight multiple-choice and six "integrated" questions has triggered various opinions. Notably, several bar exam watchers have expressed concerns that the sample questions must be more complex and adequately challenge future test-takers.
Mike Sims, President of the prominent bar exam prep company Barbri, expressed his views on the new format, describing it as "much more evolutionary than revolutionary." In his assessment, the Next Gen exam appears to be a hybrid, combining elements of the current bar exam with additional components.
On the other hand, Joan Howarth, former dean of Michigan State University College of Law and an advocate for attorney licensing reform, offered a more optimistic perspective. She praised the Next Gen sample questions for pushing candidates to think more deeply about legal issues, even though she acknowledged that the format might need improvement.
The motivation behind the development of the Next Gen bar exam stems, in part, from criticisms that the current exam fails to reflect the practical demands of legal practice accurately. The National Conference of Bar Examiners hopes the Next Gen format will address these concerns and better prepare law graduates for their future careers.
Andreas Oranje, the managing director of assessment programs at the National Conference, explained that maintaining a significant portion of multiple-choice questions ensures the long-term reliability of test scores. He clarified that the range of multiple-choice questions in the actual exam will be broader than the limited selection seen in the sample questions.
However, this emphasis on multiple-choice questions has garnered criticism from some educators, including Marsha Griggs, a Saint Louis University School of Law professor. Griggs expressed her disappointment, stating that the Next Gen exam seems to follow the same path as the current one. She argued that a departure from the status quo would have been more desirable.
Josh Blackman, a South Texas College of Law Houston professor, further weighed in, asserting that the sample questions are notably more straightforward, focusing on issue-spotting rather than applying legal rules. He emphasized that states considering the adoption of the new exam should contemplate raising the passing score to ensure rigor.
As the legal community continues to debate the merits and drawbacks of the Next Gen bar exam, future law graduates and the legal profession await the final version of the exam set to debut with the graduating class of Fall 2026. Only time will tell whether these changes will bring a much-needed transformation to the bar exam landscape.
