[blindlaw] Accessibility of bar exams and bar review courses

[Angie Matney]

Hello Elizabeth:

I took the Virginia Bar Exam in 2009. My exam consisted of the MBE and a 
Virginia state essay portion.

Bar/Bri offered two outlines for each subject--a long-form and a short-form. 
I got the short-form outlines in Braille and the long-form ones 
electronically. I was told I had to choose--I could not have the same thing 
in Braille and in electronic format also.

I also took an MBE course from Kaplan, and this was a good experience. I 
believe I only received their material in electronic format. I don't think I 
asked them for Braille. They were much quicker about providing the 
electronic materials than Bar/Bri.

My actual exam was in  Braille. NCBE produced the MBE, while the Virginia 
Board of Bar Examiners was responsible for the state portion. They 
contracted with our state Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired. All 
of the Braille I used was fine--no problems there.

I recorded all of my answers on a laptop. I was apparently the first person 
to ask for JAWS as an accommodation of any sort on the VA exam. I was 
initially told I would be required to dictate my answers to a court 
reporter. I have to say, the thought of trying to dictate essay answers 
terrified me. But eventually they came around, and I was able to type my 
answers in Notepad with JAWS, while using the hard-copy Braille to access 
the questions.

Good luck,

Angie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth Rene" <emrene at earthlink.net>
To: <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 12, 2013 9:55 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] Accessibility of bar exams and bar review courses


> Hi all,
>
> Many of us have recently taken bar examinations, and most likely have used 
> bar review courses to prepare for them.  We've all cheered for those 
> who've passed, and we all remember the struggles of those who've had to 
> litigate to get reasonable accommodations from the NCBE.
>
> I was so pumped up after my February exam (the first in Washington given 
> in Braille) that I looked into taking another state's exam just to enhance 
> my credentials.
>
> I learned through  the Internet that almost every state requires the 
> Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), the Multistate 
> Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Professional Responsibility 
> Exam (MPRE).  All of these tests have been developed by the National 
> Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), but are given by each state along with 
> any local components.  A few states have agreed to give the Uniform Bar 
> Exam (UBE--which contains all of the above tests) and honor raw data 
> scores from each others' examinees, but all other states make would-be 
> lawyers  write each exam in the original when applying for their licenses.
>
> Had enough alphabet soup yet?
>
> Starting this July, Washington State will be giving the UBE, along with 
> the Washington Law Component (WLC),, a 60-question, online, open book 
> multiple choice test self-administered by the examinee, who will be given 
> 15 or so subject outlines of Washington law whose approach is unique to 
> our state.
>
> There now, the last spoonful of ABC's , if you've not already choked.
>
> Until now, Washington's test has consisted of 24 timed essays, 18 in 
> substantive law and 6 on Washington's professional conduct rules, written 
> within a mandatory character count.
>
> I took my bar review course from BARBRI, who gave me Braille subject 
> outlines and practice essay questions.  The Braille was pretty sloppy, but 
> it was Braille, and I got it on time.  They'd contracted with the Disabled 
> Student Services of Southern Illinois University to produce it.
>
> In March, I asked whether Braille was available for the California, Texas, 
> or Minnesota bar exams, and learned that there was none.  I'd need a 
> warehouse to hold it, I was told, if produced.  Turns out that I'm the 
> only person whose asked Barbri for Braille in recent memory.
>
> My Internet searches have turned up no bar review courses that even 
> mention the ADA, much less offer Braille.  The NCBE offers study aids and 
> practice exams online and through its store, but no reference to Braille 
> is made for these.  I do know that NCBE does offer Braille for the bar 
> exams themselves.
>
> So, given all the above, what have each of you done to prepare for and 
> take the bar exam?  Whose courses did you use?  Did you get Braille 
> materials, use speech alone, study through your smart phones, or use 
> Braille displays? Did you answer with your laptop, dictate to your 
> proctor, or do something else?  And how did you judge in advance what time 
> you'd need for the performance test?
>
> And why is ExamSoft getting away with making inaccessible test software 
> when every law school and state bar association using it has to obey the 
> ADA?
>
> I got sick in mid-April and didn't follow through on my own project.  Now 
> it seems I may need to take all those multistate tests anyway,since I've 
> just missed passing Washington's last essay exam.
>
> So would you share your experiences with me, please?  I'm now fascinated 
> with this whole subject of across the country lawyer testing, reciprocity 
> and lack thereof, and accessibility.
>
> Heartfelt thanks.
>
> Elizabeth
>
>
>
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