[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-320884-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-320884-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","restructuring-the-nevada-bar-examination-making-our-process-fit-our-practice","Restructuring the Nevada Bar Examination - Making Our Process Fit Our Practice","","Richard Dreitzer, President of the State Bar of Nevada, argues that the bar exam should better reflect real lawyering demands rather than outdated “closed book” memory testing. He reviews national debates on predicting success, balancing legal theory with practical skills, and aligning assessment with the three-year law school timeline. He describes Nevada’s planned Nevada Comprehensive Licensing Examination, supported by a Nevada Supreme Court interim order, highlighting performance-based supervised practice and a multistepped, more flexible path to licensure.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exam/","Exam",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/restructuring-the-nevada-bar-examination-making-our-process-fit-our-practice/320884/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/restructuring-the-nevada-bar-examination-making-our-process-fit-our-practice/320884.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Theodore","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"Why does Richard Dreitzer say the bar exam can feel like more than a competency test?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"He notes that over time the bar exam may start to resemble a hazing event rather than the professional competency exam it was intended to be, even though the goal is public protection and standards of practice.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What concerns does the national discussion raise about how bar examinations are built?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The discussion questions whether bar exams are appropriate predictors of post-pass success, critiques reliance on closed-book memory, and argues for greater emphasis on practical skills and more integrated learning and assessment.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What is the Nevada Plan and what advantages does it offer applicants?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The Nevada Plan is the Nevada Comprehensive Licensing Examination approach supported for implementation. It includes performance-based assessments and supervised practice, plus a multistepped licensing path designed to be more flexible and manageable for diverse learning circumstances.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},320884,1790505238,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,95,100,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":93,"slug":94},70,"exam",{"id":96,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":101,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":33,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":26,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":96,"preview_page_count":4},7971461740886,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","Restructuring the Nevada Bar Examination: Making Our Process Fit Our Practice  \nBY RICHARD DREITZER, PRESIDENT, STATE BAR OF NEVADA  \nRegardless of the type of lawyers we  \nare (experienced vs. recently barred? public lawyer vs. private firm? urban center vs. rural practice?), we can all agree on one thing: the bar examination can be an ordeal – intellectually, emotionally, and often financially, as well.  \nAs new licensees, we tend to think: “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy …” Then, as the years pass, the sentiment evolves into: “Well, I went through it, so the applicants coming up today can too!” It’s funny that when you’ve practiced for a while, the bar exam starts to seem more like a fraternity or sorority hazing event than it does the professional competency exam it was always intended to be.  \nPerception issues aside, the concept is simple.  \nAs a self-regulating profession, lawyers owe it to the public (as consumers of legal services) and ourselves (as attorneys who care about standards of practice) to ensure that everyone who calls  \nthemselves a licensed Nevada attorney demonstrates certain levels of knowledge, proficiency, and intellectual rigor. Carrying this concept into practice, however, is much more complex than it sounds.  \nOver the decades and throughout the nation, the concept of a bar examination has evolved into a patchwork quilt of approaches and ideas, which include multiple-choice items, essays, practical performance tests, or in the case of Nevada, a combination of all three. Add to that, certain states have their own statespecific material that they test in a variety of ways. Here in Nevada, weare fortunate to have had the wisdom and diligence of our Board of Bar Examiners (in tandem with the state bar’s Admissions Department) to coordinate, organize, draft, and grade our state’s exam, and do so fairly and consistently.  \nDuring the past few years, a national discussion has begun to explore the reasoning behind how and why bar examinations are constructed as they are. Participants ask: are they appropriate predictors of success, once passed? Specifically, themesand questions are emerging from this discussion, including:  \n1. Bar examinations have historically centered on the“closed book” memory of  \ntest takers. Yet, given the information age in which we find ourselves, must we all remember every rule, statute, and precedent we need to represent our clients successfully? Or, should test takers merely need to analyze issues, formulate appropriate questions, and know where to find the answers?  \n2. In addition, past bar examinations focused on the academic concepts of legal education with little to no emphasis on practical skills (though testing instruments such as the Nevada Performance Test (NPT) represent a significant effort to reverse that trend.) But if we want to be certain that a new admittee is truly ready for the demands of practice and able to represent clients appropriately on day one, shouldn’t we  \ngive some thought to the practical application of legal knowledge, in addition to the knowledge itself?  \n3. Typically, bar examinations are administered at the conclusion of one’s law school education and exist separately from what students are required to know in order to obtain their law degree. After graduation, test takers inevitably scramble to relearn (or often learn for the first time) the subjects to be tested on the bar exam. Asan example, I never took the secured transactions class in law school, yet found myself learning it for the very first time on my own, in preparation for our bar exam. However, would it not make more sense to integrate assessments and testing of attorneys into the three-year  \nlaw school experience, so that law students’ learning periods are synchronized with bar exam testing for later licensure?  \nThese thoughts and others have led to an ongoing effort to restructure Nevada’s bar examination. As some may know, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCB","cbCaicCszQLyv1ku","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaicCszQLyv1ku","pdf",697282,"English","# Restructuring the Nevada Bar Examination\n## Purpose and need for change\n## National discussion and key questions\n## The Nevada Plan and implementation timeline\n## Advantages: practical skills and multistepped assessments","[{\"question\":\"Why does Richard Dreitzer say the bar exam can feel like more than a competency test?\",\"answer\":\"He notes that over time the bar exam may start to resemble a hazing event rather than the professional competency exam it was intended to be, even though the goal is public protection and standards of practice.\"},{\"question\":\"What concerns does the national discussion raise about how bar examinations are built?\",\"answer\":\"The discussion questions whether bar exams are appropriate predictors of post-pass success, critiques reliance on closed-book memory, and argues for greater emphasis on practical skills and more integrated learning and assessment.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the Nevada Plan and what advantages does it offer applicants?\",\"answer\":\"The Nevada Plan is the Nevada Comprehensive Licensing Examination approach supported for implementation. It includes performance-based assessments and supervised practice, plus a multistepped licensing path designed to be more flexible and manageable for diverse learning circumstances.\"}]","Restructuring the Nevada Bar Examination - Making Our Process Fit Our Practice | PDF",1789954710]