How will the coronavirus impact the grading of the bar exam?

How will the coronavirus impact the grading of the bar exam?

Students who took the February 2020 bar exam may be wondering how the coronavirus (COVID-19) will impact the grading of the exam. In this post, we go over the information we do have, and JD Advising’s speculation on how the release of the February 2020 results might be impacted. To be clear, JD Advising does not have any insider information.

UPDATES:

3/26/20: The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar said it does not expect any delays to the release of the February 2020 bar exam results.

3/25/20: We were informed that the Texas Board of Law Examiners said results for the February 2020 bar exam are expected to be released the first week of May.

3/23/20: Further, the New York State Board of Law Examiners noted on its website that grading of the February 2020 exam is underway, but there may be some delay due to the coronavirus. Examinees are encouraged to check their email and the New York State Board of Law Examiners’ website regularly. The National Conference of Bar Examiners stated on their website that the MBE scores should be released as normal.

How will the coronavirus impact the grading of the bar exam?

As far as the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), the organization that writes the MBE, stated that they expect no delay in releasing the February MBE results to states due to the coronavirus.

Further, we also speculate that the coronavirus will NOT impact the grading of the February bar exam essay portions—for both state-specific bar exams and the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE).

Since essay grading is generally done by attorneys on their own time, there is no reason that the grading should be significantly affected or seriously delayed. Graders do their work from home or wherever they want in all jurisdictions that we know of. So, self quarantining or social distancing should not impact their ability to grade. So this, in and of itself, should not delay or significantly alter results.

If state board offices close completely, then this could delay results. This is because the state offices are the ones that actually release the results to the applicants! We are unsure if this is something that could be done remotely. It will probably vary based on state. JD Advising is continuing to monitor the state boards’ websites for any closures!

JD Advising will continue to monitor the state websites plus the NCBE’s updates! Please check here for updates, or email us at info@jdadvising.com if you learn of something before we do!

What does this mean for students?

This should be good news! Any delay in results would likely cause more anxiety, and it would decrease the time between when you find out if you pass and the next bar exam! If you are nervous about results (which we assume most of you are!), here is a post on what to do while you wait for bar exam results!

If you looking for tips on what to do while waiting for bar exam results, sign up for our free weekly tips while you wait for results! We send you advice on waiting for bar exam results, checking bar exam results, swearing-in ceremonies, and advice on work and how to be productive while awaiting bar results. We seek to provide interesting and informative articles and posts. JD Advising will text/email once a week on Wednesdays through May 13.

Go to this post for the bar exam results release dates by state, so you can see when your state might release results this year!

Interested in reading how the coronavirus might impact the July 2020 bar exam? Read more here.

Read more here about what JD Advising is doing internally concerning the coronavirus.

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