How a cost-cutting move led to the biggest bar exam failure in US history
California’s legal system is grappling with a public crisis after what is being called the worst bar exam failure in US history. The collapse occurred during the administration of a new bar exam, built by a private contractor and meant to cut costs — a decision that has backfired spectacularly and drawn national attention.As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the February rollout of the new exam left thousands of test takers facing technical chaos, delays, and emotional distress. The State Bar of California, in an effort to erase an $8 million deficit in its admissions fund, contracted the test’s development and administration to Kaplan Exam Services and Meazure Learning. But instead of efficiency, the result was described as a complete system breakdown.Warnings ignored, and consequences followedLaw school graduate Tonya Saheli was among the first to experience the disaster. Months before the official test, she participated in a November experimental version of the exam and immediately reported alarming issues. She faced repeated login failures, unexplained delays, and an unstable platform that crashed mid-exam. “If I’m having this many problems with this experiment, what’s going to happen in February?” she recalled, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle. Saheli’s warnings were ignored.According to the San Francisco Chronicle, test takers during the February exam faced freezing screens, login errors, and proctors clashing with examinees out of sheer frustration. One legislative analysis stated the failures caused “screaming out of frustration by examinees and proctors arguing with each other.”A system built to failUnlike most states that use a standardized bar exam created by the National Committee of Bar Examiners, California crafts its own. In this case, the test was partially generated using artificial intelligence, leading to sloppy questions and increased confusion. Despite promises from Meazure Learning that their system had “99.982 percent uptime availability” and could support 25,000 test takers at once, performance fell drastically short, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.Rick Coca, spokesperson for the State Bar, stated in an email that Meazure’s assurances were “contradicted by actual performance,” as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle. The fallout has been swift: the State Bar is now suing Meazure Learning, while test takers have also filed lawsuits claiming trauma and career disruption.Political and legal ramificationsCalifornia’s ability to produce competent legal professionals is now under scrutiny, even as the state participates in at least 22 legal challenges against US President Donald Trump’s administration. The San Francisco Chronicle noted that these cases, along with those filed by nonprofit workers and private citizens, require a steady influx of qualified lawyers — something now in jeopardy.Amid growing pressure, lawmakers have proposed new legislation mandating a formal audit of the exam disaster. Yet, many feel the damage is already done. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the State Bar’s executive director Leah Wilson appeared defiant, quoting James Baldwin and saying, “Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by those who are doing it.”But for thousands of aspiring attorneys, the system did not do it — it failed.
