Bar exam takers had ‘authentic’ experience amid COVID

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Anyone who sits for a bar exam has to endure the nervousness of waiting for the results of a high-stakes test, but those who sat for February’s South Carolina Bar exam had to do it twice–once before the exam as they awaited the results of the COVID-19 tests that were required for anyone taking the test, and then the usual agony afterwards.

But several applicants who took the test said they’re glad the state chose the in-person option rather than the virtual one. While some states chose to administer their exams remotely, the South Carolina Supreme Court opted to hold the exam in person, as was done last July, but this time with added layers of precautions. 

Three weeks prior to the Feb. 23-24 exam, the Supreme Court issued directives on the exam’s protocol. Applicants were ordered to minimize their exposure to others for the two weeks leading up to the exam, including avoiding public gatherings, group events, dine-in restaurants, and bars (the latter point likely being sage advice for anyone preparing for an exam). 

Anyone using a plane, bus, or train to travel to South Carolina for the exam had to do so at least two weeks beforehand. On test days, applicants were screened by medical personnel and required to wear masks in and around the testing buildings.

“Wearing a mask while taking the exam was different, but practicing with a specific mask during the weeks leading up to the exam made it very simple,” said Connor Bauknight, who graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in December. “Overall it was fairly comfortable, if you planned and practiced enough. I felt as prepared as I thought I could be, but it is the bar exam, so you are never fully confident.”

Applicants also had to take a COVID-19 test a few days before the exam, something that wasn’t required for the July exam due to a lack of available testing at the time. That created “an immense amount of pressure” Bauknight said, to study for 10 weeks and prepare for the exam, when there was still the chance that even with social distancing and safe practices, he might not have been able to take it.

But once their tests came back negative, students such as Stephanie Pacheco and Trey Long, both December graduates of Charleston School of Law, said that they weren’t worried about COVID-19–they were focused on the exam, where exam-takers were spread through multiple rooms in two separate buildings with their own fold-out tables.

“I didn’t worry for a second about anything COVID-related,” Long said.

States that held their exams remotely had their own very strict protocols, but to stamp out cheating rather than the virus. In virtual exam states, test-takers were closely monitored, all the way down to their eye movements, via their computers’ webcams and barred from using physical scratch paper or pencils, highlighters, or pens during their exams.

Given those strict protocols, the South Carolina exam-takers said they were glad to take the bar exam in person. Pacheco said that she would have been worried that she might cast her eyes in the wrong direction and that she would get distracted, while Long said that he prefers paper tests, which make note-taking and highlighting easier. He said he was glad to be able to talk to other test-takers before the exam and during breaks. 

“They did a very good job on keeping your focus on the exam,” Long said. “Having it in person made it a lot more authentic. It helped keep it normal as possible.”

Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzonclw