The Oregon Supreme Court has unanimously supported recommendations from the state Board of Bar Examiners for two alternative pathways to licensure in lieu of the Uniform Bar Exam. An experiential learning pathway for students could require 15 experiential credits and a capstone project. A postgraduate supervised legal practice pathway could require 1,500 hours of supervised legal practice to become licensed. The Board of Bar Examiners will appoint a committee to establish specific criteria and get input from the public.
January 26, 2022
Update: Oregon Supreme Court supports alternative pathways for attorney licensure
November 23, 2021
Illinois: pilot program aims to increase teacher diversity
As part of its three-year strategic plan, the Illinois State Board of Education is launching a pilot program with 24 Illinois colleges and universities to develop plans for recruiting and retaining teachers of color. After the pilot program concludes, the Board plans to create best practices for the state's teacher prep programs. A report by the National Center for Teacher Quality indicated that, overall, almost one in three test-takers of color who fail the teacher licensing exam on the first attempt do not retake the test within three years.
October 20, 2021
New podcast focuses on cheating on exams
The Score is a new podcast focused on "academic integrity and the growing problem of cheating by college students and in professional certification and licensure." Academic researchers and experts will discuss both high-tech and low-tech methods of cheating, the impact on the education and testing industry, and issues of academic integrity in education and professional testing.
October 14, 2021
Pakistan: doctors protest National Licensing Exam
The Young Doctors Association in Pakistan have protested the Pakistan Medical Commission's decision to make the National Licensing Exam mandatory. Those against the exam requirement claim that it is a duplication of the exams at the end of every year of the five-year MBBS degree program and also note that the new national exam would be developed by the same professors who develop those yearly exams.
July 07, 2021
Oregon task force recommends alternate pathways to attorney licensure
The Oregon State Bar's Alternatives to the Exam task force has issued a formal report recommending alternatives to the traditional bar exam. An experiential learning pathway would allow students to take two years of experiential coursework and present a capstone portfolio to the Board of Bar Examiners. A supervised practice pathway would allow students to work 1,000 to 1,500 hours with a licensed attorney and then submit a portfolio of work to the board. The Oregon Board of Bar Examiners voted to advance the recommendations to the Oregon Supreme Court for possible implementation for the class of 2024 graduates. Last year, Oregon granted diploma privilege to law school graduates who met requirements.
June 23, 2021
New CPA licensure model to be introduced
The Association of International CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy have launched a CPA Evolution Model Curriculum to help accounting educators align their programs with the new CPA licensure model expected to the introduced in 2024. The CPA Evolution model will have candidates take exams in three core sections (accounting, audit, and tax/regulation) with a new emphasis on the impact of technology. They will also test in one of three disciplines (tax compliance and planning, business analysis and reporting, or information systems and controls). The new curriculum aims to focus on topics new accounting hires most need to know in their first two years of employment, with a focus on technology, to align with employer needs and the reality of current accounting practice.
June 16, 2021
Colorado: changes to reading exam for teachers
The Colorado State Board of Education has adopted the Praxis 5205 exam on reading instruction as a new requirement for elementary, early childhood, and special education teacher applicants. The requirement will take effect on September 1.
New York considers development of own bar exam
The New York State's Bar Association's house of delegates has approved a task force recommendation for the New York State Court of Appeals to adopt its own bar exam to replace the National Conference of Bar Examiners' exam. A report from the task force noted that the NCBE did not scale the exam administered in October 2020, resulting in some jurisdictions not accepting scores from other jurisdictions. Thus, the report claimed that portability of the uniform bar exam is not guaranteed, among other issues with the remote exam. The task force's report also recommends alternatives paths to bar admission: a pathway through study while completing law school and a program combining supervised practice and law school achievements.
April 28, 2021
Philippines advocates COVID vaccine priority for exam proctors
The Senate Committee on Health and Demography is urging that Professional Regulation Commission frontliners - staff and members of the regulatory boards, exam proctors, and volunteer proctors - be included in the COVID-19 vaccine priority list in order to avoid further delays in exam administration. The request is in response to the growing need to administer exams to nursing graduates in order to license more health professionals.
April 07, 2021
Tennessee bill adjusts teacher evaluation score requirements to waive exams
Out-of-state teachers coming to Tennessee and obtaining a temporary license can be exempted from re-taking licensure exams in Tennessee if they earn high scores in classroom evaluations during their first two years teaching in Tennessee. In 2020, classroom evaluation scores were invalidated when schools were closed during the pandemic. The new bill would adjust the requirement and allow the state to accept the most recent evaluation score if one of the two past years did not count or was not evaluated.
