The State Bar of California revealed Monday that some multiple-choice questions on the troubled February 2025 bar exam were developed using artificial intelligence. In a statement, the Bar announced it will ask the California Supreme Court to adjust scores for those who took the exam.
The disclosure has sparked outrage in the legal community. “The debacle that was the February 2025 bar exam is worse than we imagined,” said Mary Basick, assistant dean at UC Irvine School of Law, in comments to the Los Angeles Times. “Having the questions drafted by non-lawyers using artificial intelligence is just unbelievable.”
Test-takers previously reported widespread technical issues during the exam, including platform crashes, lagging screens, and problems saving their work.
According to the State Bar, 23 out of 171 scored multiple-choice questions were created by ACS Ventures — the Bar’s psychometrician — with the help of AI. Other questions came from Kaplan Exam Services and a first-year law student exam bank.
Despite the controversy, State Bar Executive Director Leah Wilson insisted the AI-assisted questions were valid and fairly assessed candidates’ legal competence.
Katie Moran, a bar exam expert at the University of San Francisco, called the revelation “a staggering admission,” criticizing the decision to let non-lawyers and AI craft portions of a high-stakes licensing test.
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