The California State Bar just announced that two law graduates who took the July 2023 California Bar Exam were given the wrong tests.

The two applicants who sat for the exam at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, California received two essay questions and a performance test that appeared on the February 2023 exam, the agency said in a press release.

The “test material anomaly” was identified on August 3, 2023, although the statement did not explain how. The bar did not say if the two test-takers have been notified of the error.

The State Bar said a printing vendor had kept two copies of the February 2023  exam as samples to show how to collate future tests. Those two copies were accidentally included in a package of July 2023 tests sent to the Sacramento exam site.

The California State Bar regularly posts past exam’s essay questions and model answers on its website as a study aid for future applicants. The two February 2023 questions received by the Sacramento applicants are still available online.

State Bar officials said they consulted with testing experts to come up with “a fair and reliable method” for scoring the two old test sections. They did not say what that process is.

“The State Bar acknowledges the concern this situation may have caused for the affected applicants,” the statement said. “We remain committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and fairness in the administration of the bar exam. Steps have been taken to prevent such errors in future testing cycles.”

The bar’s printer will no longer retain copies of old exams, bar officials said.

You can read more about this incident here.

 

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