Next Generation Bar Examination
North Dakota Considers
Next Generation Bar Examination
By Petra H . Mandigo Hulm
North Dakota is examining whether to adopt the Next Generation Bar Examination ( NextGen ). A committee is reviewing two questions : 1 ) whether to adopt the NextGen and 2 ) if so , when . The committee will make a recommendation to the State Board of Law Examiners . The Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether to adopt NextGen .
Evolution of the Bar Exam
Evolution of the bar examination is not a new concept . Law school educators , bar administrators , attorneys , courts , and the National Conference of Bar Examiners ( NCBE ) continually consider whether the bar examination is testing the knowledge , skills , and abilities required to be admitted to the bar . Initial bar exams were lengthy , locally written essay questions which were graded on the spot by bar administrators . The exam evolved to the current Uniform Bar Examination ( UBE ). Even now , new exam questions are drafted and revised during a rigorous development process .
North Dakota Bar Examination
North Dakota was the first jurisdiction to administer the UBE in February 2011 . The UBE is coordinated by NCBE and is composed of the Multistate Essay Examination ( MEE ), two Multistate Performance Test tasks ( MPT ), and the Multistate Bar Examination ( MBE – multiple choice ). The MBE is weighted 50 %, the MEE 30 %, and the MPT 20 %. Scores are reported on a 400-point scale . The UBE is uniformly administered , graded , and scored . It results in a portable score that can be used to apply for admission in more than 40 jurisdictions .
Despite a common misperception , the adoption of the UBE was not a change for North Dakota . The parts of the UBE have been administered in North Dakota since 1999 .
Development of NextGen
After a three-year study of the bar examination , a large content scope committee made up of legal educators , law school deans , practicing attorneys , and bar examiners began developing NextGen in 2021 . The committee focused on continuing to test the knowledge , skills , and abilities required for admission to the bar . The committee outlined the breadth of material to be covered in the areas of legal knowledge and categories of practical skills and abilities that will be tested on the NextGen bar exam .
NextGen Content
The foundational concepts and principles identified by the content scope committee will be tested on every NextGen bar exam . They include :
1 . Civil procedure 2 . Contract law 3 . Evidence 4 . Torts 5 . Business associations 6 . Constitutional law 7 . Criminal law 8 . Real property 9 . Family law ( beginning in July 2028 )
NextGen will also test select American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct .
Seven foundational skills , organized in four skills areas , will be tested :
1 . Issue spotting and analysis , investigation and evaluation ;
2 . Client counseling and advising , negotiation and dispute resolution , client relationship and management ; 3 . Legal research ; and 4 . Legal writing and drafting .
NextGen Format
The format of the exam includes three question types given over one and one-half days rather than the current two days . Approximately 40 % of the exam will be multiple-choice questions , just less than 1 / 4 of the exam will be integrated question sets , and approximately 1 / 3 of the exam will be performance tasks . Sample examination questions can be found at https :// nextgenbarexam . ncbex . org / nextgen-samplequestions /.
The multiple-choice questions will be questions with four to six answer options and one or more correct answers . Initially , questions will resemble the current MBE questions to ensure stability of the scores between the UBE and NextGen . In the future , the variety of multiple-choice question types will increase . Some multiple-choice questions may also appear in the integrated question sets and longer writing tasks .
Integrated question sets will be based on a common fact scenario and may include legal resources such as excerpts of statutes or judicial opinions , supplemental documents such as a police report or excerpt from a deposition , or both . The integrated question sets replace what was the essay portion of the UBE . These question sets will include a mixture of multiple-choice and short-answer questions . Some integrated question sets will focus on drafting or editing a legal document . Other sets will focus on counseling , dispute resolution , or both .
10 THE GAVEL