Law community
As a member of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) Content Scope Committee, Dean Andrew Perlman has been helping to create a new version of the bar exam. We asked Dean Perlman about this important effort.
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Bar passage has long been one of Suffolk Law’s strengths, but there are some well-known problems with the exam. Among other issues, the bar exam historically hasn’t done a particularly good job of testing the skills that newly licensed lawyers need. For example, to state the obvious, answering multiple-choice questions is not a skill that most lawyers commonly require. Relatedly, the exam tends to benefit those who are good at taking standardized tests rather than those who know how to do the work of newly licensed lawyers. Another big problem is that the bar exam covers way more legal doctrine than a new lawyer needs, so the exam becomes more about memorization than assessing someone’s skills.
As a member of the Content Scope Committee, I’ve had a seat at the table in helping the National Conference of Bar Examiners as it slims down the material that will be covered while reimagining how that material is assessed.
Once the approach of the new exam is finalized, the experience will greatly inform Suffolk Law’s own efforts to prepare our students for bar passage. As a law school that prizes experiential training, I think the Law School is going to be especially well-positioned to prepare our students for success on the new exam.
I’ve asked a few of our faculty committees that are involved in preparing our students for the bar exam to review the expected changes to the exam and determine whether we need to make any adjustments to our curriculum or bar preparation efforts. As a matter of course, I think we’re already providing our students with most of the skills that they will need, but we want to make sure that our graduates are fully prepared.
Why does the country need a new version of the bar exam, and how does that effort inform your work at Suffolk?
One problem with the current exam is that the students who have the most resources can take time off between graduation and the bar exam to memorize the wide range of legal doctrines that are tested. In contrast, those with fewer resources are at a disadvantage because they can’t afford to take significant time off to memorize all of that doctrine. A focused and slimmed down bar exam will help to address that issue.
How might the new version of the exam address equity issues?
Dean Andrew Perlman
Law community
As a member of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) Content Scope Committee, Dean Andrew Perlman has been helping to create a new version of the bar exam. We asked Dean Perlman about this important effort.
Return to Table of Contents
Bar passage has long been one of Suffolk Law’s strengths, but there are some well-known problems with the exam. Among other issues, the bar exam historically hasn’t done a particularly good job of testing the skills that newly licensed lawyers need. For example, to state the obvious, answering multiple-choice questions is not a skill that most lawyers commonly require. Relatedly, the exam tends to benefit those who are good at taking standardized tests rather than those who know how to do the work of newly licensed lawyers. Another big problem is that the bar exam covers way more legal doctrine than a new lawyer needs, so the exam becomes more about memorization than assessing someone’s skills.
As a member of the Content Scope Committee, I’ve had a seat at the table in helping the National Conference of Bar Examiners as it slims down the material that will be covered while reimagining how that material is assessed.
Once the approach of the new exam is finalized, the experience will greatly inform Suffolk Law’s own efforts to prepare our students for bar passage. As a law school that prizes experiential training, I think the Law School is going to be especially well-positioned to prepare our students for success on the new exam.
I’ve asked a few of our faculty committees that are involved in preparing our students for the bar exam to review the expected changes to the exam and determine whether we need to make any adjustments to our curriculum or bar preparation efforts. As a matter of course, I think we’re already providing our students with most of the skills that they will need, but we want to make sure that our graduates are fully prepared.
Why does the country need a new version of the bar exam, and how does that effort inform your work at Suffolk?
One problem with the current exam is that the students who have the most resources can take time off between graduation and the bar exam to memorize the wide range of legal doctrines that are tested. In contrast, those with fewer resources are at a disadvantage because they can’t afford to take significant time off to memorize all of that doctrine. A focused and slimmed down bar exam will help to address that issue.
How might the new version of the exam address equity issues?