MEE and MPT Test Development - A Walk-Through from First Draft - to Administration

Sep 21, 2026

The document explains how the MEE and MPT are developed and administered as parts of the Uniform Bar Examination. It describes the MEE as a question-based exam covering up to twelve substantive law areas, and the MPT as a closed-universe, two-task performance test focused on lawyering skills rather than substantive knowledge. It outlines evaluation requirements, committee composition, drafting and editing workflows, and the multi-year development process with checks to ensure licensing reliability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

MEE and MPT Overview

MEE scope and question structure

MPT performance tasks and required skills

Timing and jurisdiction participation

Development Process

Development timeline and quality controls

MEE and MPT drafting committees

Drafting and editing workflow

mee anD mPt teSt DeveloPment: a Walk-through from firSt Draft to aDminiStration by Judith A. Gundersen the MEE requires an examinee to have studied substantive areas of law and respond to specific questions according to generally accepted fundamental legal principles. The MEE may cover any of 12 areas of law, which vary from exam to exam; some questions may include issues in more than one area of law. The MPT is a closed-universe test consisting of two performance tasks designed to test an examinee’s ability to use fundamental lawyering skills in a realistic situation. Each MPT item evaluates an examinee’s ability to complete a task that a beginning lawyer should be able to accomplish. (Jurisdictions may administer one or two MPT items; however, most jurisdictions, including all jurisdictions administering the Uniform Bar Examination, administer two items.) The MPT is not a test of substantive knowledge. It requires examinees to (1) sort detailed factual materials and separate relevant from irrelevant facts; (2) analyze statutory, case, and administrative materials for applicable principles of law; (3) apply the relevant law to the relevant facts in a manner likely to resolve a client’s problem; (4) identify and resolve ethical dilemmas, when present; (5) communicate effectively in writing; and (6) complete a lawyering task within time constraints. The MEE and MPT are administered the day before the administration of the MBE. Thirty-three jurisdictions administer the MEE; 42 jurisdictions administer the MPT. Both tests are also components of the Uniform Bar Examination, which is administered in 16 jurisdictions. (These numbers include Kansas, which adds the MEE and the MPT with its first administration of the UBE in February 2016, and MEE and MPT Test Development: A Walk-Through from First Draft to Administration 29 New York, which adds the MEE with its first administration of the UBE in July 2016.) All MEE and MPT questions (and grading materials) are subject to a rigorous development process that usually takes about two and a half years—a process with the requisite checks and balances to ensure that each item meets the requirements to be used as a licensing tool. mee anD mPt Drafting committeeS TheMEEandMPT Drafting Committees, each consisting of between five and eight members, are composed of any or all of the following experts: law school professors, practicing attorneys, and judges. MEE drafters are experts in the subject matter fields covered by the MEE. The MPT Drafting Committee is unique among NCBE drafting committees in that it is heavily weighted toward law school clinical faculty, who teach both in clinics and in the classroom, and practicing attorneys. (NCBE has 10 drafting committees—one for the MEE, one for the MPT, one for each of the seven MBE content areas, and one for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination [MPRE].) Both the MEE and MPT committees meet twice a year to review and edit questions over the course of a weekend after the initial drafting of the questions has occurred. Members presently serving on the MEE and MPT Drafting Committees hale from 12 jurisdictions (the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont) and represent nine law schools. Two full-time staff members—myself and Sonja Olson, a lawyer-editor—provide direct support to these committees. Additionally, many NCBE staff members provide administrative, technical, and editorial support for the MEE and MPT. DeveloPing the mee anD the mPt: the BaSic StePS Drafting and Editing MEE questions and analyses are written by both MEE Drafting Committee members and outside item writers who are professors from law schools across the country. (MEE analyses are illustrative of the discussions that might appear in excellent answers to the questions; they are provided to the user jurisdictions to assist graders in grading the

FAQs

What is the difference between the MEE and the MPT?

The MEE tests how an examinee responds to questions across substantive law areas using generally accepted legal principles. The MPT tests lawyering skills through realistic performance tasks and does not assess substantive knowledge.

What skills does the MPT require examinees to demonstrate?

Examinees must sort relevant facts, analyze legal materials for applicable principles, apply the law to facts, identify and resolve ethical dilemmas when present, communicate effectively in writing, and complete the task within time limits.

How are MEE and MPT questions developed and reviewed?

MEE and MPT items follow a rigorous process that usually takes about two and a half years. MEE drafting involves committee members and outside item writers using NCBE item writer guidelines, while MPT items are drafted by committee members and vetted before full drafting committee review.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Aria Callaghan