Posted on 06/18/2017 5:17:49 PM PDT by dayglored
Use of a Surface Book, compatible pen, or a computer with the Windows 10 Creator update will result in ejection from the exam
If you’re planning on using your Surface Book or a laptop with the Windows 10 Creator update on it to take the bar exam in Tennessee next month, you’re out of luck. The state bar has prohibited test-takers from using the device, and anyone using a device with the new updates will have to make some adjustments.
According to the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners, the directive comes from limitations with the exam software, SofTest, which doesn’t support the Windows 10 Creator update, or any Surface Book other than a Surface Pro. Users will be required to change some compatibility settings in order to take the test. The board is also recommending that users disable automatic updates for their computer, because the updates can cause the device to freeze if the user is actively using the exam software. Test-takers who are planning to use a computer with the Windows 10 Creator updates installed are asked to notify the board by July 12th, which apparently will require them to sign an additional addendum to their Laptop Agreement. Violators will be asked to leave and “will have to answer to the Board regarding their failure to follow instructions.”
Failure to comply means ejection from the exam and a summons to the board for an explanation
Users who don’t make the change won’t be allowed to use their laptop, and Surface devices or other tablets with a detachable keyboard won’t be permitted at all. Violate the rule? Ejection from the exam and a summons to the board regarding their failure to follow instructions. The same goes for anyone found with a device-compatible Pen in their possession.
MacBook users should be okay, but the board also noted that the software will disable a MacBook Pro’s TouchBar, which other organizations have banned around the country, because they’re “not compatible with the security features of the ExamSoft software.”
The prohibition was first spotted by @thirdscrivener, who questioned why the detachable keyboard is specifically an issue, noting that he’s “taken multiple law school exams” on his own Surface Book, each without issue. While the exam software does work for Surface Pro (which must use an external keyboard) users and iPads, the Tennessee law board simply isn’t permitting them.
Can’t see why anyone in there right mind would buy a $2000 disposable, unrepairable laptop.
“Wouldn’t a hidden dual boot with linux and a split screen allow for cheating?”
I can’t say.
This test software takes over the computer, I don’t know all the details.
ExamSoft is an example I know.
Exactly. I was very fortunate to have learned how to use a slide rule in high school, a few years before hand calculators came out. As a result I learned how to "sanity check" my calculations ("Does that seem about right or not?").
I bought an HP-35 in college when they first came out, but I still sanity-checked its results. And I was astonished and dismayed at how many of my fellow physics and engineering students were all too eager to take whatever their calculators displayed as "gospel".
I still have a couple of slide rules around the house. And use them from time to time. They make me think.
“We took the bar exam with paper and a No. 2 pencil and were glad to have them.”
In our days, we used tablets. Stone tablets and chisel tools.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.