IN RE: RULES GOVERNING ADMISSION

to the BAR of ARKANSAS

___ S.W.3d ___

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Delivered February 1, 2001

Per Curiam. On February 16, 2000, the Arkansas Bar Association (Association) filed a petition recommending changes in the content and format of the Arkansas bar examination. (See: The Arkansas Bar Association, Petitioner; No. 00-195) We referred that petition to the Board of Law Examiners (Board) by per curiam order of March 23, 2000. The Board filed a response on September 13, 2000, and we issued a per curiam order on November 30, 2000. That order directed various changes in the content and format of the bar examination, effective with the July, 2002 examination.

We are informed by the Board that concurrent with the Board's consideration of the proposals submitted by the Association, the Board began a study of the scoring methodology presently in use. That separate issue was discussed at Board meetings in March, May and August of 2000, and concluded with a Board meeting held on December 2, 2000.

The Board has provided the Court with a record of its study of this matter. That record includes: analyses of performance on the Arkansas bar examination for the last decade; statistical comparisons with the passing standards required in numerous other jurisdictions; and, a report from a consultant employed by the Board to assist in evaluating not only the Association proposalsbut the issue of scoring methodology as well. In addition, the Court has a report dated October 27, 2000, submitted to both this Court and the Board by the Dean and other representatives from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law and the Dean and other representatives from the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock.

Based upon this record, the Board recommends that the essay portion of the Arkansas bar examination be scaled to the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) beginning with the February, 2001 Arkansas bar examination. To accomplish that goal, the Board recommends that Rules IV and IX of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar (Rules) be amended.

We concur with the Board's recommendation and conclude that scaling the essay portion of the examination to the MBE will enhance consistency of grading from one examination to the next.

We hereby amend Rules IV and IX as they appear on the attachment to this order.

Finally, the Court is made aware that a small number of applicants from the July, 2000 Arkansas bar examination have retained an essay score from that examination. Such retained essay scores are presently expressed as percentages that are carried to two decimal places. This value will be multiplied by 11 (which is the number of essay questions on the exam) to obtain a total essayraw score for use in the new grading formula. By way of example, a retained score of 75.25% will equal a total essay raw score of 827.25.

RULE IV.

DUTIES OF THE BOARD

The Board shall cause to be provided questions to be used on examinations, and shall furnish to each applicant a set of such questions, on the day of examination.

The Board shall cause to be graded the examination papers and as a Board ascertain the average grade of each applicant.

The names and addresses of applicants passing the examination as determined pursuant to Rule IX of these rules, and who shall have been found by the Board to be of good moral character, shall be certified to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, with a recommendation that they be licensed as attorneys-at-law and solicitors in chancery. (237 Ark. 976, January, 1963, as amended April 8, 1963; amended by Per Curiam October 25, 1976; amended by Per Curiam July 1, 1985; amended by Per Curiam May 18, 1992.)

RULE IX.

EXAMINATION - SUBJECTS - PASSING GRADE

A. GENERAL EXAMINATION

All examinations shall be in writing and shall cover the subjects hereinafter listed and such other subjects as the Board may direct, subject to prior Court approval.

BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

This subject heading may include corporations, partnerships, agency and master-servant relationships.

COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS

This subject heading may include the general coverage of the U.C.C. This will not include the general subject of contracts and will not include matters relating to warranties under product liability, both of which may be covered under other headings.

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE

This subject heading may include constitutional law as it applies to criminal law and procedure.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

This subject heading may include both the Arkansas Constitution and the Constitution of the United States. This subject will not be primarily directed to matters relating to criminal law and procedure.

TORTS

This subject heading may include the entire field of Tort law and questions concerning product liability.

PROPERTY

This subject heading may include the law of real property and, or, personal property. Emphasis here should not be placed on the U.C.C. and other such questions arising primarily under the subject heading "Commercial Transactions."

WILLS, ESTATES, TRUSTS

Because of the broad scope of this subject heading, questions concerning taxation shall not be covered. Guardianship of both the person and the estate may be included.

EVIDENCE

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

This subject heading may include both state and federal trial and appellate practice and, where applicable, remedies and choice of forum.

EQUITY AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS

CONTRACTS

This subject heading should place emphasis upon the traditional basics of contract law. Only where duplication cannot be avoided, should matters such as the application of the Uniform Commercial Code be covered under this heading.

NOTE: Conflict of Laws is not included as a separate subject on the examination. However, conflict questions may arise in the subjects included on the examination and should be recognized as such.

The answers to each essay question will be assigned a score ranging from 65 to 85. This score shall be designated as the applicant's "essay raw" score on a question. The sum of theapplicant's essay raw scores from all the essay questions on the examination shall be designated as the applicant's "total essay raw" score.

The distribution of the total essay raw scores acquired by applicants on a given examination will be converted to a score distribution that has the same mean and standard deviation as those same applicants' Multistate Bar Examination scale scores on that examination . The score on this converted scale that corresponds to the applicant's total essay raw score shall be designated as the applicant's "essay scale" score. An applicant's total examination score shall be determined by the following formula:

An applicant shall pass the examination if he or she earns a total score of 405 points or higher.

The Board shall destroy all examination papers, including questions and answers, at the time of the next succeeding bar examination. However, the original copy of each question shall be maintained in accordance with Rule III.

A bar examination applicant may retain: the applicant's Arkansas total essay raw score of 825 or more; or, the applicant's Multistate Bar Examination scale score of 135 or more. The retained score may be used in the concurrent or immediately succeeding examination only. An applicant may transfer from another jurisdiction a Multistate Bar Examination scale score of 135 or more for use in the concurrent or immediately succeeding examination only.