Academic

Laptops On State Bar Exams

By Dan Filler

Most of our students use laptops constantly.  They take notes (and surf and IM) on their laptops.  And they most certainly take final exams on computers.   But when it comes time to take their bar examinations, they'll discover that not every state is as tech-friendly as their law schools.  In New York and Pennsylvania, it appears that anyone can write their exam on a computer.  But in Illinois, it's a first-come, first-served scrum for the limited number of laptop seats.  And in New Jersey, they hold a lottery for the limited number of laptop slots.  (Viva, Las Vegas Atlantic City!) I haven't seen a state-by-state schedule, but I'm guessing that states are all over the map on bar exam laptop policies.

This is important information for both law students and faculty.  Students need to know that they may be forced to flex unfamiliar muscles (literally and figuratively) on the bar exam.  And faculty may want to consider this fact in developing their overall teaching and assessment strategy.  ("Welcome to Advanced Issues In ERISA, everyone.  I consider this a bar prep course because you must handwrite your final!")

My own experience is that students who type their answers produce significantly more content in the allocated time.  On issue-laden final exams, this has the potential to assist typers, relative to their pen-bound colleagues.   And I assume that some laptop exam writers self-select  because they know that their handwriting is unreadable.    I certainly hope bar examiners take into account both the differential writing speeds and the risk that people who write poorly - and have therefore never handwritten a law school final - may now be forced to do so, for the first time, on the bar.  

Perhaps some savvy bar examination committee has already started the empirical study...

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on August 18, 2009 (boomark / email).