Posted on 12/23/2020 5:48:31 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Remember when we said that the online bar exam’s “cheating” algorithm was going to be a problem? It already flagged Black and Brown folks for merely existing, but it didn’t stop there and managed to key in on all sorts of people as likely cheaters.
And this was kind of the point. The algorithm is designed to flag people for “suspicious” activity and then leave it to the humans to parse through the video to make sure it was a false positive. But maybe that’s a Herculean task….
Indeed, this video shows the California Committee of Bar Examiners revealing that of the 9,301 people who took the exam, 3,190 of them were flagged by the software. That’s 1 in 3!
Put aside whether or not software that flags a third of applicants is really doing its job — which is a good question! — when bar examiners are told that “it looks like 33 percent of the applicants cheated” the reaction should be “that’s obviously poppycock.” Instead California seems to be rolling with the “order to show cause” approach of asking a bunch, if not the bulk, of people flagged by the software to prove they weren’t cheating.
This is lunacy. The “Chapter 6” notices that California is sending around say stuff like “Facial view of your eyes was not within view of the camera for a prolonged period of time” which should be an invitation for the examiners to watch the goddamned video to see if it’s valid before bringing the applicant into it. This description is so generic that it’s clear the examiners never even bothered to look into these flags. Someone who looked at it and detected something suspicious would say “hey, the camera shows you repeatedly looking at your lap” not this vague garbage.
One notice sent around was “no audible sound was detected” which is a real trick because PEOPLE WEREN’T SUPPOSED TO MAKE NOISE. I get that they’re alleging that someone turned off their microphone or something, but that’s something that could be verified with further investigation. Why add unnecessary stress?
If California wasn’t ready to actually deal with the flags then they shouldn’t have gone with an online exam. It’s part of the deal. You make the exam online and that means more post-hoc proctoring. Farming it out to “prove us wrong” is utterly unacceptable.
Worse, reports are emerging on social media that applicants are being told that they have to respond to these vague allegations without seeing the video for themselves which sounds like an issue spotter. Hopefully these are just rumors because if the bar examiners are really trying to tag applicants based on a hastily composed algorithm that we already know creates false positives without access to the only relevant evidence… well that would be a new low.
Unfortunately, this exam cycle has taught me to not expect much.
Ah, proof positive that a minimum of a third of new lawyers are destined to become Democrats.
Not only not kidding, but a warming.
The inquiry, first reported by the ABA Journal, puts test takers flagged by the system at risk of being required to retake the exam, which is typically required before a law school graduate is allowed to work as an attorney in the state. Any review that substantiates widespread cheating also could give critics of bar exams in California and other states further ammunition to promote alternatives like diploma privilege, which allows law school grads to get licensed without taking an exam. -Bloomberg Law
"We believe there were multiple factors that contributed to the number of flagged videos, including the unprecedented nature of this first-ever online remote bar exam and the large and diverse population who took it in California," said state bar spokeswoman Teresa Ruano, adding "We will continue to refine and improve this process based on learnings from this first online exam."
Attorneys for several flagged test-takers say the allegations are preposterous and an overreaction. Georgia-based lawyer Megan Zavieh who has offices in California is representing over two-dozen of the applicants who were contacted by the CA Bar, and said that some of her clients received letters accusing people of moving their eyes out of camera range at the wrong moment.
Just warming up for everyday life as a Leftist attorney.
i have take very long essay exams.
i exhibited all kinds of behavior
i surely would have been flagged
The allegations of cheating comes fresh on the heels of a similar online cheating scandal at West Point, where over 70 cadets were accused of cheating on a calculus exam last spring.
Fifty-nine of the cadets admitted to cheating on the test, which was taken remotely rather than on academy grounds due to the pandemic, according to West Point officials. Two of the cases were dropped for lack of evidence, four cadets resigned, and eight cadets face honor code hearings which could result in their expulsion.
Forget it, Jake. It's California.
No
They just Biden’d it
These peopl already believe they are entitled to exceptions to the rules
All future libtard soxialists
Wait a minute. They tried to do the Bar Exam on line?
That’s nuts!
Can’t be very good software if it didn’t catch the other two-thirds.
It’s ok to cheat now. Not a crime. Just ask Joe.
Having food and gazing off screen is cheating?
Math is a systemic racist construct by White binary pronoun using Fascists of the Patriarchy..
california doesnt allow food in a bar exam without an exemption
so maybe they followed that procedure for this version
gazing to the side could be cheating off crib notes
If no one is ever prosecuted, what’s the use of lawyers? Collecting from those fleeing the state?
The inherent problem with at-home, online exams is that they’re at-home online exams. Which is to say that test-takers can get away with a lot of stuff that they couldn’t get away with under ordinary conditions. A lot of folks are going to take “an open book, open note” approach even if it’s expressly forbidden. I understand about these AI algorithms which are monitoring eye movements for people looking at non-test material on their screens. I guess that’s one solution but I’m not necessarily convinced that if I were on some sort of honor code jury, I’d convict a test taker on the basis of software claiming that someone’s eye were looking in the wrong place. It’s hard to stare at one place a screen constantly and there maybe variations in screen shapes, sizes and layouts that result in people looking around on their screens. Bottom line, online at-home exams are a pretty crappy idea. Maybe they should have simply administered these tests with masking or postponed them for test-takers uncomfortable with masking.
What was the deal with the remaining 45?
people are not going to look straight ahead at all times when answering essay questions
people think in different ways. my eyes go up and to the right or left.
and when trying to grasp something from the recesses of my brain and not quite being able to get it... my face, head, and body may move in all kinds of ways
I understand no food allowed in person, as that could certainly distract others. And, I guess I could see them just propagating the rule for online testing. I would fail as I often look up and around when using recall.
I would imagine crib notes would have to be massive for the Bar Exam, right? I’ve never seen the exam or spoken to anyone about it before.
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