AI, technological cashouts and exam reform: Inside the California bar exam crisis

Sep 21, 2026

California’s February 2025 Bar Exam sparked widespread frustration after AI-generated questions, technical disruptions, and opaque vendor decisions undermined trust in the admissions process. The State Bar awarded a no-bid contract to Kaplan for exam redesign, replacing prior question formats, then faced failures during administration. A petition later revealed AI was used to develop scored questions. Remediation included fee waivers, an independent investigation, and scoring adjustments approved by the California Supreme Court, alongside plans for in-person July 2025 testing.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Background: February 2025 exam changes

Kaplan contract and redesign

Complications during administration

Technical glitches and AI question development

Remediation and oversight

Fee waivers and independent investigation

Scoring adjustments and next steps

Supreme Court approval and July 2025 plans

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 AI, technological cashouts and exam reform: Inside the California bar exam crisis California’s February 2025 Bar Exam fiasco, marked by AI-generated questions, technical glitches and opaque vendor decisions, has left aspiring lawyers frustrated and the State Bar scrambling to restore credibility. By Erin M. Joyce and Natalie Manoukian T he controversy surrounding changes to the California Bar Exam, along with problematic administration of the February 2025 exam and troubling headlines involving the use of artificial intelligence by the State Bar to generate test questions, have triggered a chain of events that the State Bar is struggling to address for future exam sessions. These recent shortcomings have left both prospective attorneys and established members of the legal profession in a state of confusion, frustration and disappointment with the State Bar of California. In August 2024, the State Bar announced that it would be awarding a no-bid, five-year, $8.25 million exam development agreement to Kaplan North America, LLC. This agreement was sought with the intention of closing a gap in the Admissions Fund, bringing change to the longstanding Bar Exam administered in California. This decision proposed changes to the content and distribution of the Bar Exam. Primarily, the new exam format would replace the longstanding National Conference of Bar Examiners’multiple-choice question set, the MBE, with Kaplan-created California-specific multiple-choice, essays and performance questions. Changes to the multiple-choice questions were set to replace the Multistate Bar Examination in time for the February 2025 exam.“State Bar, Kaplan, Sign Five-Year California Bar Exam Development Contract,” State Bar of California (State Bar),(Aug. 13, 2024). The February 2025 Bar Exam, which introduced Kaplan-created multiple-choicequestions,encountered numerous complications. Technical difficulties disrupted test administration, and it was later revealed that AI was used in developing some of the multiple-choice questions of the examination.“Board Offers Free July Bar Exam to Applicants Who Withdrew or Fail February Bar Exam,” State Bar, Feb. 21, 2025. As stated in the State Bar’s filed petition with the California Supreme Court, 29 out of 200 multiple choice questions, 23 of which were used for scoring, were developed with the use of AI, generated by ACS Ventures, LLC (ACS). After entering into the agreement with Kaplan, it was expected that multiple-choice questions for future bar examinations, including the February 2025 bar examination, would consist of Kaplan-drafted questions, along with State Bar provided First Year Law Students Examination (FYLAX) questions as source materials. It was later determined that there were not enough multiple-choice questions for each of the subtopics of the seven subject areas tested on the Bar Examination, therefore, ACS, a psychometric and test development consulting company was contracted to draft additional questions for the February 2025 Bar Examination. Prior to this, ACS was primarily contracted by the State Bar to assist with examination analysis, grading, and related services, not includingthe drafting of examination questions. ACS drafted question prompts were run through OpenAI and ChatGPT. The 29 ACS drafted questions are reflected in the chart to the right: Shutterstock Bar examiners failed to disclose the enlistment of ACS Ventures to the legal community, test-takers orthe California Supreme Court, which oversees the State Bar of California. Petition for Approval of Raw Passing Score and Scoring Adjustments for the February 2025 California Bar Examination, State Bar,(April 29, 2025). In response to the extensive issues surrounding the administration of the February 2025 Bar Exam, the State Bar implemented remediation measures to address test takers’valid concerns, including offering fee waivers to individuals who either withdrew from the exam

FAQs

What triggered the crisis around the California Bar Exam in February 2025?

The exam faced AI-generated questions, technical difficulties during administration, and concerns about vendor decisions and transparency, leaving applicants and members of the legal profession dissatisfied.

What changes did the State Bar plan for the exam format, and who was involved?

In August 2024, the State Bar awarded Kaplan a no-bid five-year contract to develop a new California-specific exam format, aiming to replace prior multiple-choice structures with Kaplan-created multiple-choice, essays, and performance questions.

How did the investigation and legal response address the AI question-development issue?

The State Bar filed materials with the California Supreme Court that indicated AI was used to develop certain scored multiple-choice questions, leading to authorized remediation steps and oversight actions.

What remediation steps were taken after the February 2025 results?

The State Bar offered fee waivers, authorized an independent investigation, and implemented scoring adjustments. The California Supreme Court agreed to apply the CBE’s recommendations to the February 2025 results.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Genevieve