The Californian Supreme Court has directed the State Bar to conduct an expedited investigation and study of the bar pass rates and bar exam. Opponents of the  bar exam passing score said that it appeared to have been set to perpetuate an outdated, elitist policy that lacked scientific validation. Monterey College of Law and the California Accredited Law Schools stand with the Assembly Judiciary Committee in a pending request before the Supreme Court and have called for an immediate adjustment of the 144 minimum passing score for the CA bar exam pending completion of the ordered investigation and studies. 

Petition

Some 13 Californian Accredited Law School Deans petitioned to the CA Supreme Court to immediately lower the minimum passing score from 144 to 135  - the average of the nine other most populous states - during the period that it takes to conduct the proposed state bar validation studies. 

Significant impact

In November 2016 the State Bar of California announced that the July 2016 Bar Exam Pass Rate was the lowest in 32 years. But, Dr Roger Bolus, State Bar psychometrician presenting a report to the Judiciary Committee testified that California would have had an 87 per cent pass rate, not 57 per cent pass rate if it had used the same minimum passing score (133 v 144) as NY.

Wait and see

Advocates of change are now awaiting the Court's response to the pending requests by the CALS and the Judiciary Committee for the Court to order the State Bar to take immediate action on lowering the minimum passing score.