Stephanie Francis Ward over at the abajournal.com writes that the recent lower bar passage rates may have to do with remote learning fatigue.  I agree that may be part of it, but a primary culprit to consider is the online remote bar-software providers (see also this link, and I've podcasted about it here).  Recent examinee Jordan E. Greenman is taking the bar association to court for admittance given the software's recent snafu (military jargon for "systems normal all fuc!ed up")!

In the middle of the MPT portion of the exam, Greenman's computer screen went dark.  He rebooted it, but when it restarted, the timer had not paused.  Greenman lost at least six minutes to restart his computer, and I'm sure several more minutes to reorient himself. "Greenman's score on that portion of the exam was significantly lower than for other sections of the test. If the section score was consistent with other test sections, Greenman's petition said, he would have passed the exam." His score was less than 2% of what was needed to pass that portion, while the rest of his exam grades were notably higher.  I'm sure he was not the only test-taker with this issue; but perhaps the only test-taker with the chutzpah to take the matter to court.

This reminds me of a story when test takers sued the VA bar.  The VA Bar requires test takers to wear formal attire when taking the bar.  One year, the test was held in a basketball court.  Test takers near the bathrooms were deluged with hard shoe clicking noises when the last call for rest rooms was announced toward the end of the test.  I can only imagine how interruptive it was to hear the stampede!  The state bar associations need to be mindful of the environment around them.  Even if it is virtual, the bar associations need to be prepared for and accommodate these unexpected interruptions.

MTC.