State Bar extends deadline for obligatory mock exams by 5 days

The State Bar has extended by five days the deadline for bar applicants to submit their mock exams, after test-takers reported problems with the software and getting customer support, while videos have been posted showing purported techniques for cheating.

The mock exams are obligatory for those who wish to take the actual bar exam on Oct. 5 and 6. The bar had initially set the deadline for Sept. 18.

“Good news! The deadline to complete your two required mock exams in ExamSoft has been extended to Sept. 23,” the bar announced in a tweet Thursday.

Roger Huddle, a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law gave examples of some of the problems encountered with Examsoft’s software, called Examplify. He said he bought a laptop in December and after the bar moved the exam moved online, his new laptop couldn’t run Examplify. The program wouldn’t recognize his camera or microphone, which is used for remote proctoring, he said.

He said he has tried several versions of Examplify, but none worked, and eventually bought a new computer. He said ExamSoft reported it would not be able to fix the software issue before the deadline.

“I think it’s become a test of privilege,” Huddle said. “That’s been a talking point that other people have said, but it really does feel that way. Because the only reason I was able to get to this point is because I had the time to call and try and figure out over the course of three or four days and then had the means to buy a new computer.”

Concerns have also been raised about people posting internet videos stating that users of Apple products are copying and pasting content from an iPhone into the Examplify software on a MacBook and declaring this enabled them to potentially use their notes to help them cheat during the exam.

In one video, a person is seen copying a long paragraph on their phone and pasting the same text into the Examplify program, which is running on their laptop. The video doesn’t show which version of Examplify is running.

Another user is also able to copy a large paragraph into the program, although a phone is not visible, so it’s not clear that the text is being copied from two different devices.

In an email, Nici Sandberg, associate director of marketing content and communications at ExamSoft, said since each exam is video recorded, such activity would be flagged by their software and human proctors “for multiple reasons such as eyes leaving the computer screen, a phone in view of the camera, and/or secondary screen glare.”

The appearance of large text showing up out of nowhere would also be noted, Sandberg said.

On social media, people have complained about being unable to reach ExamSoft’s technical support. For Huddle, it took several days to get his issues resolved.

In an email sent Friday with updated deadlines, the bar also addressed concerned applicants who wondered what would happen if ExamSoft’s support is unavailable on the exam day.

“The State Bar is aware of the issues related to ExamSoft’s customer support resources and has been working with the company to resolve them as soon as possible,” the email stated. It added that ExamSoft has assured the bar the company “will have many more customer service representatives available on exam days.”