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Bar Exam

90 people who were told they failed the bar exam learn it's not true

Ninety people who were told they failed the Georgia Bar Exam are getting some good news: They actually passed.

Errors in scoring the July 2015 and February 2016 exam caused the problem, according to a statement by the Georgia Supreme Court’s Office of Bar Examiners. The Daily Report (sub. req.) and the Associated Press have stories.

“There are a number of factors that led to these problems, new procedures being implemented and some changes in scoring,” the statement says.

The problem with the July 2015 exam scoring was discovered when an applicant applied for bar admission in another state. The applicant’s score history in Georgia was pulled as part of standard procedure, and “we found an aberration in the reporting of that applicant’s score,” the statement says. A deeper investigation followed.

The February 2016 error was caused when “a different methodology was used for the score calculation,” the statement says. The Board of Bar Examiners decided to return to the prior methodology, which led to passing scores for some who were told they had failed.

The Board of Bar Examiners is “making a concerted effort” to notify the 90 people that they actually passed, and will reimburse fees they spent taking subsequent exams. “The bottom line is that the problems are fixed,” the statement says, “and we are notifying and reimbursing those impacted by the error.”