February California Bar Exam Is In Disarray; Refunds Offered To All 5,600-Test Takers

Reuters, Amid Calif Bar Exam Disarray, Refund Offered to 5,600 Test Takers:

The State Bar of California on Thursday offered a full refund to the 5,600 people scheduled to sit for its new bar exam later this month if they want to withdraw from taking it — an unprecedented step with the test date just 12 days away.

The state bar said that it was “extremely sorry” about the problems test takers have faced with the bar and the company it hired to deliver the test, in an email to applicants reviewed by Reuters.

“We understand that scheduling challenges, poor communication, and inconsistent messaging between the State Bar and Meazure Learning have caused a lot of frustration, confusion, and anxiety,” the state bar’s email said.

The Recorder, State Bar Offers Exam Refunds Amid Last-Minute Changes, Confusion:

Citing ongoing frustration with the run-up to the Feb. 25-26 bar exam, California's state bar Thursday evening offered applicants a full refund if they withdraw from the test.

An email from the bar to the more than 5,000 people signed up for the exam apologized for what the agency's director has called a "messy" rollout of a new remote testing format.

"We understand that scheduling challenges, poor communication, and inconsistent messaging between the State Bar and Meazure Learning have caused a lot of frustration, confusion, and anxiety," the email stated. "As a result, we are offering all applicants who wish to withdraw from the February exam a full refund (less bank fees)."

The email, which was also posted on the social media site Reddit, said applicants can withdraw up until the start of the exam through the bar's website. Previously, test takers would have had to drop out in December to be refunded any amount of their fees. ...

The upcoming two-day exam is the first to use a new hybrid model that will allow most applicants to take the test from a computer at home. Other test takers, however, have opted to sit for the exam at a site administered by the private vendor Meazure Learning.

The Recorder, State Bar Struggles With 'Messy' Run-Up to February Bar Exam:

With the February bar exam just two weeks away, state bar officials continued to scramble this week to secure an adequate number of testing sites and to respond to a deluge of questions from frustrated applicants.

The bar's switch to a new exam administrator, Meazure Learning, and a new format that allows for remote testing has been rocky. Some of those registered to take the two-day general bar exam on Feb. 25 and 26 reported having their site reservations abruptly canceled with no explanation while others said they received conflicting information about testing rules, deadlines and procedures from Meazure and the state bar.

"I'm so angry at this situation," said one registered test-taker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "This is just not a stressor we can afford right now."

Other applicants said they have been assigned to testing sites hours away from their homes, even though bar leaders said the move to Meazure would allow the agency to shift away from large, costly convention centers and instead allow applicants to take the exam online from home or at an array of nearby vendor-secured sites.

Exam-takers were originally told dozens of testing sites would be available in California alone, from Arcata to San Diego, for those who needed or wanted to test outside their homes. But only four large test center locations were made available to general applicants until the bar added a fifth at its Los Angeles office this week.

Bloomberg Law, California Bar Takers Can Back Out Amid New Test's Chaotic Debut

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