Opinion ID: 1450062
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: description of the alaska bar exam

Text: In order to understand Bettine's allegations, familiarity with some of the procedures used in administering and grading the exam is required. The exam is a 2 1/2 day exam. One full day is devoted to the nationally administered MBE. The rest of the exam consists of essay questions. Three hour-long essays are weighted at 30% of the total essay score, six half-hour questions account for 45%, and a research/analysis practicum accounts for the remaining 25%. The total essay score is given 50% weight, and the MBE receives the other 50%. The grading procedures for the essay portion of the exam are governed by Law Examiners Committee regulations. Pursuant to these regulations, the graders first meet to calibrate each particular essay question. At least five graders read and individually score five randomly selected answers on a scale of one to five. They repeat this process several times, with each grader reading at least twenty exams, until the graders agree on a set of answers that are representative of each of the five possible levels. These benchmark answers are then used as guides in assigning scores to the remaining papers. Two graders score each essay. The graders are required to agree to within one point on the score assigned to each question, meaning that the graders must regrade questions until they agree within one point. The two scores are then averaged to obtain the applicant's score for the question. Each applicant's essay scores are then weighted, combined and converted to the same unit of measurement as the MBE score, so that the essay and MBE scores can be combined for the purpose of making pass/fail decisions. An applicant whose combined score falls between 139.00 and 139.99 will have those essays which received a split score reread by the two graders. The graders may, but do not have to, change the score upon reread. If upon reread an applicant's combined score is raised to a 140.00 or above, the applicant passes the exam. Failing applicants are notified in accordance with Alaska Bar Rule 4(4) and are offered the opportunity to inspect their essay examination booklets and grades, as well as a representative sampling of answers from other applicants.