In Academic Support, much of our work is bar preparation for first-time takers and retakers. We meet one-on-one with students for months. We give them scheduling, study, and strategy tips, along with endless encouragement, so they can perform at their best on the bar exam and pass.
When results come out, we celebrate the students who passed. We may send emails or post on LinkedIn to recognize this huge accomplishment. For students who were unsuccessful, we try to meet with them to learn about their experience and ask how we can support them going forward.
The consequences of a failing score are serious. Some students lose their jobs. Others keep their jobs at lower pay, with the sense that they have only one more chance. All of them face the dread of studying for at least ten more weeks.
Sometimes a student who gets a failing score files an appeal, if the jurisdiction allows one, because they believe an unintentional mistake was made. But what if the mistake was intentional?
The Arkansas allegations
I never imagined that could happen in any jurisdiction. Then, on November 5, 2026, a press release from the Supreme Court of Arkansas revealed that the unthinkable may have happened. Nancie Givens, the former Executive Director of the Arkansas Office of Professional Programs (which oversees the state’s bar exam), has been charged with 65 counts of tampering with public records. The charges relate to the alleged altering of numerous Arkansas Bar Examination scores and the deletion of files allegedly meant to hide the misconduct.
The evidence suggests that:
- Givens took points from some examinees’ scores and added them to others’ scores. This raised those examinees to the minimum passing score of 270 or higher, within the same test administrations, between July 2020 and July 2025.
- In at least one instance, the alterations may have lowered a passing examinee’s score to a failing one.
- In at least one instance, the alterations may have lowered the score of the examinee who should have earned the top score, so another examinee was named the highest scorer.
Where do we go from here?
Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. But if these allegations are true, the harm goes far beyond the criminal charges. It damages trust in bar examiners, possibly in every jurisdiction. It adds to the debate over whether the bar exam really measures legal competence, since people who did not actually pass may have been practicing law. It undermines the integrity of our profession. And it leaves me wondering how we move forward, because, truthfully, this isn’t just an exam. The bar exam is the gateway into our profession, and our students’ livelihoods may depend on it. So, it’s hard for me not to take it personally.
I have seen several proposals for remedying a situation like this:
- Compensate examinees who were told they were unsuccessful when they actually passed.
- Require those who did not actually pass to retake the bar exam, even if they have been practicing for years.
- Audit every jurisdiction to make sure this isn’t happening elsewhere.
What do you think can be done to restore what may have been lost?
(Kiana Wilson)
