What If I Don’t Finish A California Performance Test?

What If I Don’t Finish A California Performance Test?

The California performance test on the California Bar Exam gives students a “real world” assignment similar to what they would experience in a law firm setting.  The performance test contains a fact pattern with a closed universe of legal materials. Test-takers have ninety minutes to construct an answer to the performance test on exam day.  This means that examinees need to carefully manage their time, read the materials provided, and construct a coherent argument that addresses all the legal issues.  In doing so, students should utilize as many of the library materials as possible.  If you’ve already taken the California Bar Exam and you weren’t able to finish the performance test, or if you’re worried you’ll run out of time on the performance test come exam day, this post is for you!

What If I Don’t Finish A California Performance Test?

The Scoring

In 2020, a passing score on the California Bar Exam was lowered to 1390 out of 2000. That means you have to score approximately 69 percent (somewhere between a C-minus and D-plus) to pass the bar exam. You can expect to answer a number of questions incorrectly on the bar exam. Remember, you do not need to be perfect to pass! The performance test is worth 200 points, and roughly 20% of a test-takers written score.  While it certainly is to your benefit to score well on all portions of the bar exam, so long as you reach the passing score, you pass the exam.

If you score poorly on the performance test but do well on the MBE and essays, you can still pass!  Leaving part of a performance test blank, while certainly not ideal, does not mean that you are destined to fail the bar exam!

You May Still Get Some Credit

If you didn’t finish the performance test, it may be because you spent a lot of time reading, outlining, and hopefully writing a great answer at the beginning of the performance test. Even if you didn’t get an entire response down, you’ll likely get points for the portion you did include. If you do find yourself running out of time on exam day, including at least some bullet points to cover the remainder of the performance test might also result in some additional points.

What You Can Do

If you still have time before the California Bar exam, the best way to avoid running out of time on the performance test is to make sure you’re incorporating practice performance tests into your study schedule. Get familiar with the format of the performance test so you can get a sense of how to manage your time and better prepare for the exam!

If the bar exam is already in the past, try not to worry! Just because you didn’t finish the performance test doesn’t mean you failed. You may still be ahead of the curve!

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