Online Bar Exam Cheating
Bar exam cheating remains a serious threat for law students taking exams remotely, particularly those taking them from remote locations. Some states mandate recording yourself during your exam room time in order to detect possible cheating activity.
Integrating any extra text–such as prayers, pleas for understanding from examiners or mantras–into your answers constitutes cheating. Here are a few methods:
1. Taking the Exam in a Different Location
Cheating on a state bar exam is an offense with grave repercussions in any profession that values honesty and integrity, such as law. Such acts often result in loss of privileges to practice law going forward – much like bank robbery would result in jail sentences that last decades after one incident of cheating occurs.
Recently, a trainee lawyer known as burnerman1818 was banned from practicing law for five years for cheating on the New York State Bar exam. SILE, which administers the Bar, uses machine learning software to compare answers against all candidates taking the exam and identify patterns which might indicate fraud or misconduct. SILE caught this individual using machine learning methods used to compare answers against all candidates taking it in order to detect fraud or misconduct patterns that might indicate fraudulent activities or misconduct.
SILE determined that his actions constituted a serious violation of ethical rules of the Bar, banning him from taking future exams until his behavior had been thoroughly reviewed by an examiner screening process similar to the one used on other bar examinees. Furthermore, he must disclose this fraud in his application for membership and take additional ethics courses as punishment for his misconduct.
It is unfortunate that the California Bar is using such inadequate and outdated technology to monitor exam takers. There are so many alternatives that do not cause as much distress for examinees. As an opportunity, this should provide California with an opportunity to reconsider its plans for remotely-proctored exams as well as offer clearer paths for those flagged by these kinds of surveillance tools.
Importantly, prospective lawyers must recognize that taking the Bar exam is more than a “pass or fail” test; rather, it reflects your character as an attorney and your competence as an aspiring legal professional. If tempted to cheat during this examination process, consider carefully whether doing so would compromise your career later on.
2. Taking the Exam in a Different Time Zone
When taking an online bar exam, it’s essential that you consider your time zone carefully. Doing so could result in taking the exam too early or late and could potentially create confusion over which answers should be selected or even cause you to miss questions altogether – however there are easy solutions available to combat this problem.
Whilst cheating may seem tempting, doing so could have grave repercussions for your future career. Not only could it cost you your privilege to practice law in the future–similar to bank robbing–if caught, the memories of your crime could haunt you for years afterward.
Reddit provided an anonymous platform where law students who were accused of cheating on bar exams could share their experience, with one student reporting they cheated and fearing potential repercussions for doing so. Their user ID on Reddit is burnerman1818.
Student claimed they exchanged text messages with another colleague during an exam, sharing information taken directly from their course textbook. Furthermore, the student stated they had access to an external calculator which provided access to real-time score updates throughout.
After being flagged by software, students sought legal representation to defend themselves against allegations made against them by test takers. Their legal counsel contends that such allegations represent an “overreaction to activities which would have been forbidden by a live proctor before taking an in-person bar exam room – such as having food, drinks or digital clocks present or blinking or moving their eyes out of camera range at inappropriate moments.
No matter the outcome of the review, this case highlights the dangers of using technology to monitor remote examinees. The California Bar should carefully consider its plans for using such technologies and provide clearer paths for examinees who may have been falsely accused of cheating. Integrity is at the core of legal profession’s values; using flawed software that traps innocent examinees should not compromise it.
3. Taking the Exam in a Different Environment
Setting is key to studying effectively, and one element that contributes to this ideal study environment is finding a peaceful location. If you must take the bar exam in noisy surroundings or are distracted by other people, focusing can become very challenging; thankfully there are ways you can focus more on your exam and maximize its benefit through studying.
We will explore a few tips to help you focus on and avoid distractions during a test, such as changing the room in which you take it, minimizing noise outside, limiting electronic devices like cellphones or computers and more. By applying these techniques to your exams, we hope these strategies can help you focus and achieve excellence!
As a new lawyer, it will be essential for you to be adaptable in a variety of environments and situations, particularly if working in private practice. Furthermore, you’ll need to adapt your working environment based on both the type of case being managed as well as client preferences.
Assuming you are handling a divorce case, your workload will likely be greater than working on a murder investigation; accordingly, you must adapt both your work load and study habits accordingly.
Remember when taking the bar exam that it is your responsibility to abide by all rules and regulations set out by the bar association. Failing to do so could result in disciplinary actions by them and could even result in losing your license to practice law as well as jail time.
The Bar is on a mission to promote greater access and inclusion in the legal system, but forcing thousands of examinees to defend themselves against an algorithm which suggests they cheated without seeing evidence is clearly against this objective. We urge them to reconsider plans for remotely proctored future exams and devise more suitable pathways for those flagged by inadequate surveillance tools.
4. Taking the Exam in a Different Environment
Even with our best intentions in place, some examinees may still try to cheat on the bar exam. Therefore, jurisdictions’ efforts to discourage and detect such behaviors are vitally important to ensuring a secure testing experience for all examinees.
Just a few weeks ago, Reddit user burnerman1818 posted to the r/barexam subreddit and admitted they had “cheated on the bar exam.” It was an extremely shocking confession; most people would find it hard to admit even to themselves! Additionally, they claimed they had falsified their law school application forms as well.
Although the post was quickly taken down, its accusations proved true: an UIC John Marshall student took and shared their Illinois bar exam answers with multiple individuals including sharing them on an Illinois bar candidate chatroom. Following reports of cheating by UIC John Marshall students taking the Illinois bar exam, an investigation by ABA’s Center of Ethics and Professional Responsibility (CEPR) began into this case.
As part of their investigation, CEPR has requested all relevant records and information from the user, along with any evidence they used an outside source to access exam materials. CEPR will review this data to decide if he or she should be dismissed from the bar.
Examinees may have various reasons for turning on their laptop during an exam break; possibly their internet is slow or they need support from family. Or it could even be used as an opportunity to open their notes or ask someone for assistance on an essay question they’re struggling with.
EFF’s main issue with proctoring software is its exposure of test takers to unnecessary surveillance. Furthermore, there’s always the risk that students who haven’t violated any rules or regulations could be falsely accused of cheating; this phenomenon is known as false positive and can be very frustrating for individuals wrongly accused of cheating.
Therefore, we strongly advise jurisdictions to limit breaks and to inform examinees that using any device during an exam break is prohibited. Furthermore, we advise the LSAC develop clearer guidance on this matter for candidates so as to prevent confusion or misinformation.