Secret's Out!

So, for various and sundry reasons, we hadn't told a lot of people about this. Part of it was that DH was tired of being bugged about it, part of it was the jinx factor, part of it was... I don't know... maybe he just wanted to by mysterious about it.

Anyway, DH took the California State Bar exam this week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, in a big room at the Event Center in San Mateo, with 1,399 of his closest friends. And that's just the San Mateo locations; there were other test sites in California (Sacramento, Oakland, Pasadena, San Diego), each with their own clutch of lawyer-wanna-be's.

Day One is three essays in the morning and a performance test (like an essay on steroids) in the afternoon. Day Two is the Multistate Bar Exam, the same multiple choice test that is given in 46 other states on the same day (the questions are applicable to law situations regardless of location). Day Three is a repeat of Day One - three more essays and a performance test. So that's, in effect, eight essays and 200 multiple choice questions.

As he points out, he has the luxury of not having to worry about the outcome, but for many in the room who may already have gotten jobs at law firms pending their passing the test, a lot is riding on the result - which you don't find out about until November. The stress level in the room is so thick you can feel it (he says).

Each essay is scored by two readers. If their two grades are significantly different from each other, the essay is read a third time. So with 8 essays per person, and multiple thousands of test-takers, it takes a while. Plus, at each test, the Bar Association decides how many new lawyers they want that year, so they see where the results fall, and then figure out what the passing grade is, so there's no known grade to shoot for, like if you get an 82, you're in. That's why the results don't get posted until mid-November, so we get to wait four months to find out if he passed. Since the Cal Bar picks the passing grade, there's no second-guessing how you did. You could get a 97, but if 2,000 people got 98 or higher and 2,000 is their number, then a 97 fails.

We just gotta wait. (Thank you, LMKnits, for reminding me to post this!)

On the plus side, we used his getting through the grueling week as an excuse to get a Wii. And a new TV on which to play the Wii. Wheeeee!