Multistate Performance Test (MPT)

MULTISTATE PERFORMANCE TEST (MPT)

On March 1, 2000, the Court of Appeals issued the following press release:

The Court of Appeals has approved the first major change in the New York State Bar examination in more than 20 years, authorizing the State Board of Law Examiners to add a new performance test question to the exam beginning in July 2001.

The new Multistate Performance Test (MPT) question is designed to assess case planning, problem solving, factual investigation and other skills that are important to the competent practice of law. They are not necessarily measured by the bar exam's traditional essay and multiple choice questions.

"Our bar examination will be improved by the addition of a performance question," said Richard J. Bartlett, chairman of the Board of Law Examiners. "It will test candidates in situations very much like those encountered every day by practicing lawyers -- that is, analyzing facts, identifying legal issues, and looking up the law to apply to those issues."

The MPT, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, is a 90 minute question which requires candidates to complete an assigned task using resource materials they are given. The task is described in a memorandum from a supervising attorney and may include the preparation of a brief in support of a motion, a memorandum evaluating grounds for objecting to the probate of a will, a simple complaint or some other legal document. The assignment may raise an ethical issue as well. Candidates will be provided with a "file," containing source documents from which candidates must glean the facts of the matter, and with a "library," containing cases, statutes or regulations.

The Board of Law Examiners believes that adoption of the MPT will not only improve the overall validity of the New York bar examination by testing for a broader range of lawyering skills, but will also send a strong message to law schools and their students that skills training is a necessary part of the education of every lawyer, Mr. Bartlett said.

The Court of Appeals commissioned its own study of the New York exam and reviewed independent reports by national and local bar associations, all of which endorsed performance testing as an important improvement.

Court of Appeals Judge Howard A. Levine said, "The experience of other states with the MPT demonstrates its utility in further assessing whether candidates are prepared to enter the practice of law by testing performance skills. Thus, its addition to the New York bar examination will benefit both bar admission applicants and the public they hope to serve."

The MPT has gained acceptance across the nation since it was first administered in 1997. Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas are among the 22 states that have committed to including MPT questions in their bar examination. California has employed its own performance test since 1983.

Adopting of the MPT in New York is the first major change in the state's exam since July 1979, when the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) was added for a second day of testing.

The Board of Law Examiners will retain the current two-day format of the bar exam. The first day will consist of the new performance test question (accounting for 10 percent of the final score), five traditional essays (40 percent) and 50 New York multiple choice questions (10 percent). The second day will continue to consist of the 200 multiple choice questions of the MBE, accounting for 40 percent.

The bar examination is administered twice a year, in February and July. Last year, 11,614 candidates took the New York exam.

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In order to accommodate the addition of a MPT question, the Board intends to reduce the current six essay questions to five and, at the same time, make them shorter by cutting the number of issues usually tested in each essay from four to three. The new format of the examination will be as follows:

First day, morning session, 3 hrs. 15 min. (9 AM to 12:15 PM) - three essay questions and 50 New York multiple choice (NYMC) questions. Although applicants are free to use their time as they choose, we estimate an allocation of 40 minutes per essay question and 1.5 minutes per multiple choice question.

First day, afternoon session, 3 hours (1:30 to 4:30 PM) - one MPT and two essay questions. Although applicants are free to use their time as they choose, the National Conference of Bar Examiners developed the MPT with the intention that it be used as a 90-minute test. Therefore, the Board recommends that applicants allocate 90 minutes to the MPT and 45 minutes to each essay.

Second day, both sessions 3 hours (9 AM to 12 NOON and 1:30 to 4:30 PM) - Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) - 200 multiple choice questions - no change.

The allocation for grading purposes will be 40% essay questions, 10% NYMC, 10% MPT, and 40% MBE.

Again, the Board of Law Examiners will begin including a MPT question in the New York bar examination commencing with the July 24-25, 2001 bar examination.

Additional information on the MPT, including availability of study aids, may be found on the website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners, www.ncbex.org