10 ways the bar exam could change in 2025
After 2024’s seismic shifts in the bar exams around the country, aftershocks will continue to roll through the new year, experts say. The ABA Journal spoke with several such experts; these are 10 of their predictions for 2025. (Image from Shutterstock)
After 2024’s seismic shifts in the bar exams around the country, aftershocks will continue to roll through the new year, experts say. The ABA Journal spoke with several such experts; these are 10 of their predictions for 2025.
• In February, California will launch its multiple-choice bar exam developed by Kaplan North America. The test will be able to be delivered remotely and in-person. Joan Howarth, professor emerita at the University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law, says to anticipate hiccups, primarily in exam delivery. But she does expect it to succeed.
Hear more from Joan Howarth about her book Shaping the Bar in this episode of The Modern Law Library.• Midyear, the Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform, a group comprised of nine state supreme court chief justices and three state court administrators, will deliver recommendations on legal education, the bar admissions process and the declining numbers of attorneys dedicated to public-interest law. “The CLEAR efforts will spur renewed cooperation between the courts, legal educators and bar examiners, much of it focused on what law schools can do to ensure the competence of their graduates,” adds Howarth, author of Shaping the Bar: The Future of Attorney Licensing.
• The National Conference of Bar Examiners’ work on the NextGen bar exam, set to debut in July 2026, will expand beyond developing content to determining how to set passing scores. In May, NCBE will convene a national standard-setting study with around 90 legal experts including judges, practicing attorneys and legal educators, says Judith A. Gundersen, NCBE president.
• More jurisdictions are expected to adopt NextGen. In October, 32 jurisdictions hosted the NextGen prototype exam, and 10 more sent observers, Gundersen says. “Twelve of these jurisdictions have not yet announced adoption, but they are clearly very interested in the exam and how it will be administered,” she adds. By mid-December, 29 jurisdictions had committed to the new exam.
• The price of bar prep programs may go up as providers retool for NextGen, “and that’s expensive,” says Deborah Jones Merritt, professor emerita at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. “Academic support faculty will continue to scramble to understand the topics and question formats for NextGen.”
• Alternative pathways will continue to be considered and approved, following the popularity of Oregon’s Supervised Practice Portfolio Exam, Howarth says. “The Oregon program will begin producing insights that will be useful for all the innovative licensing pathways under consideration,” Merritt says. Utah and Minnesota are among those continuing to explore these options, she adds.
• In 2025, Nevada will authorize its three-part plan for graduates in 2027, Howarth predicts. She also believes Washington will enact its new pathways to licensure, allowing them to become effective in 2026.
• Some jurisdictions will consider following Arizona’s lead in creating special licensing rules to make rural practice more attractive, Howarth adds.
• Jurisdictions will take a fresh look at the character and fitness processes, with as many 10 overhauling and streamlining processes, Howarth says.
• Two more states will lower their bar exam cut scores, Howarth says. Cut scores currently range between 260 and 270 after five states lowered their passing standard in 2023.
